A White Demon Love Song
by Elphaba C. Snow Thropp
Summary: Quinn Fabray finds herself studying the bizarre case of Rachel Berry during their junior year.
1. Rachel fucking Berry

**AN: This is my first Glee fanfic and it is Faberry. I've had this idea for weeks now and I decided it would be good to get it out of my system. I sincerely hope you enjoy my story.**

* * *

"It's the first day of school," Santana stated bluntly.

"You're observant," Quinn quipped with a smirk, earning a playful glare from the Latina.

"Aren't you guys excited?" Brittany asked animatedly. She had always enjoyed the first day of school, each and every year. She didn't know what it was about the first day that had her about to bust with happiness.

"Not exactly my choice of words," Quinn replied dryly, fingering the hem of her cheerleading top. She had been through hell and back, then back to hell and back again to get that uniform back. Going straight into conditioning after giving birth was not easy, so going straight into conditioning with Sue Sylvester was like trying to fight an ocean current; difficult, tiring and remotely impossible.

"You're just in a shitty mood because Coach is still mad at you for getting pregnant," Santana smirked because she was now at the top and she knew it would take Quinn months before she was back on top, so she was enjoying her time as Head Bitch.

"She's getting over it, so move over because I'll be back at the top so fast you'll get whiplash," at that Brittany whipped her head quickly to the left and promptly dropped her jaw. Quinn snickered. "Looks like Britt already did."

"And for a good reason. That most definitely _cannot_ be Rachel fucking Berry," Santana sounded like she just had the wind knocked out of her, rightfully so.

Quinn didn't do a double take, she did a triple take when she saw the tiny diva walking –well, strutting down the hall. To say that Rachel Berry had changed would be a gross understatement… at the moment, that is. The brunette was clad in an unfeasibly short, and by the looks of it, new, pink skirt that made her flawless, tan legs stretch on for miles, and pink ballet flats encompassing her small feet, but that wasn't nearly the most shocking thing. What caught most peoples' attention was her shirt. It was also pink and long sleeved, but the bodice was a corset that zipped in the front. Rachel saw fit to only zip it up enough to allow a teasing amount of cleavage to peak through the top. The sway of her hips was unmistakable and jaws were dropping left and right… and left and right. Everyone was staring, no joke, _everyone_ was staring. And they were doing so openly. Some were even drooling, but Rachel just went on about her merry way to her locker.

She even walked past Karofsky while he had a full, 44 oz sized slushy in his hand and went by unharmed. She seemed to bounce to her locker, even with her eyesore of a backpack on wheels. How did she manage to cart that thing around all the time? It weighs almost as much as she does. And where the hell did she get _that_ outfit? The last question was the one that was running through everyone's mind at the time.

"Oh, my God, Man Hands has breasts," Santana appeared to be surprised that had just escaped her lips.

"And an ass," Quinn seemingly finished for her. Rachel's skirt didn't leave much to the imagination. There was no way that was regulation, even if Rachel had short arms.

"I'm going to go talk to her. Come on," Brittany grabbed them both by the wrists and before either of the other Cheerios could protest, they were standing in front of Rachel Berry. The tall blonde grinned. "Hi, Rachel. You're hot."

The diminutive girl paused in her actions of putting her books into her locker and turned toward the trio with an unreadable expression. "Hello, Brittany, Quinn, Santana. Thank you for the compliment, Brittany."

"You're welcome, Rachel. Can I see your schedule?" she requested politely, snatching the piece of paper out of the other girl's hands before she could respond. Brittany was like that.

"I trust the three of you had a good summer break," Rachel tried conversationally, continuing to put things in and take things out of her locker.

"Ooo, yay! We have three classes together," Brittany smiled and clapped her hands enthusiastically and Rachel beamed her "Rachel Berry" smile back at her. "And you and San have three classes and you and Quinn have most of the same schedule. This year's gonna be fun, especially with glee."

"I must adamantly agree. I've been taking more vocal lessons with a private coach this summer and Schuester and I have already been working on things we can try this year. We have some real talent on the team and I'm very anxious to see what new people we might have this year," the first Rachel rant this year and two of the Cheerios found themselves fighting a smile. They had actually missed her incessant babbling. Go figure.

"Did you just call Mr. Schue …Schuester?" Quinn asked, giving Rachel an odd look.

The diva blushed scarlet and ducked her head. "Yeah, force of habit. Um, we should probably go to class."

"I'll walk you," Brittany volunteered eagerly. "I'll even carry your books."

"That's not really necessary, Brittany… but you're taking my books anyway, okay then."

"Here, San. You can carry my books," Brittany smiled, settling her books into Santana's arms, while she grabbed Rachel's. "Come on, Rachel. We all four have first block together," she linked their arms together and dragged the tiny brunette down the hall to history.

"What the fuck? RuPaul's not an invalid; she can carry her own damn books," the irritated Latina mumbled.

Quinn chuckled with a shake of her head, pulling her friend along down the hallway after the pair. If she didn't know any better, she'd think that scowl on Santana's face was one of jealousy. She also would've thought the knot in her stomach was more than just first day of school jitters.

* * *

First hour was bizarre for a number of reasons. One, people were complimenting Rachel, which never happened unless they were pulling a prank. Two, Brittany was all over pixie of a girl. It was as if she couldn't keep her hands to herself. It was starting to piss Santana off and Quinn could easily tell. Three, due to the first day, the entire class period consisted of a power point introducing the new school rules and that was about it. The rest of the time was spent doing basically nothing. But the most bizarre happening occurred when Mr. Herzog, their history teacher began to take role.

"… Annarose Allen," he called out the third name.

"I'm here, sir. And I like to be called Alba," a quiet, strong voice answered. Her voice reminded Quinn of a bunny rabbit. Quinn like bunny rabbits as much as the next teenage girl.

"Stand up so I can see your face," he commanded in his bored monotone. "I put names with faces better than I do with voices."

"I don't think you'd particularly like to see my face, sir," all eyes shifted to the front left corner of the room to the petite figure sitting up straight in her chair, her small frame engulfed by the oversized hoodie she was wearing.

"Explain, please," he forty something year old was intrigued now.

"I was born with a skin condition that not everyone takes kindly to. I think you should stand to be content on putting my name with my voice and move on," she countered smoothly, not even turning in her seat to look at him.

"I'll have to see you sometime this year."

"Not necessarily," her voice was steely now.

"What if I threaten you with a detention?" he wasn't really going to give her a detention for some reason he had a feeling she knew that. He'd caught her gaze once before class began and the intensity in them was stifling.

"I've done nothing wrong. I don't see why you'd need to do that. I feel it would do us both a lot of good if we just left the topic of my face alone."

"Yes, but now you've gotten the whole class interested in your aforementioned face, so it's only fair of you to reveal yourself to us," he reasoned, moving closer to the girl. There was no demanding in his tone, it had gone mildly softer throughout the conversation.

"That wouldn't be fair to anyone, I can assure you. Should I show my face, no one will have wanted to see it. You know, Pandora was never able to put those horrible things back into that box. I happened to be one of those horrible things. Now, I believe you were taking role. You should continue since you know who I am. I've been told I have an unforgettable personality," she ended the statement with a twinkling, surreal laugh.

Mr. Herzog stared at his student for a long, unblinking moment.

"Rachel Berry?"

Rachel broke out into a smile at the attention. "Right here."

* * *

At lunch, the four were sitting and eating their prospective lunches while Rachel and Brittany engaged in an odd conversation about unicorns and how they coexisted with the dinosaurs or how they caused the dinosaurs to become extinct or something of that nature. Quinn and Santana were still baffled by the fact that Brittany seemed to genuinely be enjoying Rachel's company. She talked constantly… but then again, so did Brittany, but at least Brittany didn't go off on long ass rants.

"Hey, ladies, who is this fine, young- holy shit, that's Berry," Puck jumped a mile away from this seat he was about to take next to Rachel.

She only gave him a soft smile and patted the spot beside her. "It's okay, Noah. I won't bite… unless you ask me to."

Puck must have looked like a fish out of water at that comment, the way his mouth kept opening and closing. After several seconds Santana snapped. "Jesus, Puckerman, shut your mouth and sit your ass down."

"Don't be rude, S," Brittany chided her softly and Santana relaxed.

"Damn Berry, you look sexy," Puck was finally able to get out, taking his seat.

Rachel flushed, but nodded. "I've been told that multiple times today, but I thank you anyway."

"Is that skirt even fingertip length?" he wondered, taking a peak at toned, tanned thighs.

"Her fingertips, but not yours, so keep your hands to yourself, Puck," Quinn found herself saying before she realized it. She locked eyes with Rachel and tensed, but played it off by looking down and picking with her pizza.

"Yeah, or Finn will kick your ass. You know how touchy he gets when you're around his girlfriends," Santana joked, earning a punch and a slap from Quinn and Brittany respectively on the arm.

"As for the girlfriend part, Finn and I aren't dating. I broke up with him at the beginning of the summer," Rachel supplied, popping a cherry tomato into her mouth.

"_You_ broke up with _him_?" Puck questioned skeptically. Rachel Berry didn't usually break up with people. She was the one that was usually dumped.

"Yes. Complications arose and I wanted to be able to go to Finn, so he could make me feel better, but I ended up feeling… nothing, so I broke up with him. He was very upset, but it had to be done. He'll thank me for it later. We weren't really that compatible of a couple anyway. And he's very dull," she explicated just before the topic of their discussion arrived at the table.

"Who's very dull? Oh, Rachel, hi… what are you doing over here?" he obviously didn't realize how rude he was being.

Rachel opened her mouth to answer, but Brittany did it for her. "She's my new friend and she's gonna eat lunch with me, Q, and S, now… guys… why is Finn looking at Rachel like that?"

"He seems to be transfixed on my cleavage," Rachel observed, not angrily before snapping her fingers in front of Finn's face. "If you're going to stare, you could at least attempt to be relatively subtle about it."

"Sorry," Finn's face had gone completely red as he sat on the other side of Puck and kept his head down during the rest of lunch.

"So, Berry, what's with the makeover?" Puck queried curiously.

"Um… my mother thought it would be beneficial to me to redo my wardrobe for this year and we needed some bonding time, so I let her. It was a very tiring and frustrating experience, but it was definitely worth it. She has good taste in clothes."

"Wait, if your mother let you where _that_, what exactly does she wear?"

"She is so beyond out of your league, Puck," Quinn laughed, deciding to put her two cents in.

"Can we change the subject? I'm fairly certain Puck thinking indecent thoughts about my mother and I'm uncomfortable," Rachel said, playing in her salad.

"Hey, there's that new girl," Brittany announced, inclining her head to the nearly empty table next to them, where Alba was spooning noodles into what must have been her mouth inside the dark hoodie from a black thermos that was being held by a black gloved hand. "She looks lonely."

"I wish I could see her face," Rachel murmured, tilting her head to the side, studying the bunny-girl's fluid movements.

"Why?" Quinn wanted to know.

"She's an enigma. She keeps her entire body hidden and I want to know why. She seems very fascinating if this morning in history was any indication of what she's like," the diva explained in a slight degree of awe.

"You're not gonna like obsess over her, are you?" the blonde inquired, furrowing her eyebrows apprehensively as Rachel tore her gaze away from Alba and directed straight at Quinn, once again. There was a brief moment of emotion the crackled in the air between them to the point that it was startling for both girls. Rachel broke away first this time and they went back to their lunches with similar tingling sensations in their bellies.

* * *

"Hey, Schuester, are signups for glee club up yet?" Rachel had asked during her, Quinn, Santana, and Brittany's last class of the day; Spanish 4 with one William Schuester. Alba was also in that class with them. She was sitting in the seat behind Rachel, reading a book.

"Yes. Put them up just after lunch," Mr. Schuester smiled. He had also been one of the many teachers who were too lazy to come with a lesson plan for the first day of school and let the class have the rest of the time to themselves to catch up with one another.

"Great. I'll sign up right after school. Hey, did you find my binder in your car?" Rachel realized that this was an odd and questionable question to ask a teacher, but she had been looking for that binder for a whole week and she was getting desperate.

"I did actually. I don't really know how it got there, though. I thought Shelby put it in her car," he said.

"You know how she can be," Rachel smiled with a shrug before going back to her seat.

"Hey, Rachel, do you like ducks?" Brittany would ask that.

"I haven't had many experiences with them, so it's hard to tell, but they are cute," she answered triumphantly, knowing it would satisfy the blonde enough for her to not ask any more duck questions.

Alba shifted her elbow on the table and knocked her pencil off the table. It landed right next to Rachel's foot. She extended her leg out to try to scoot it back with her foot, but she was much too short, so noticing her struggle, Rachel bent down to pick up the pencil and set it on the girl's desk.

"Thank you," there was that bunny voice again.

"You're welcome," the brunette hesitated, but proceeded on. "Can I ask you a question?"

"If it pleases you."

"Why do you prefer to be called Alba, instead of Annarose?"

"Alba is an acronym," she expounded vaguely.

"An acronym for what?" Quinn had been silently listening to the exchanged, but she was inquisitive now, as well.

"My full name."

"Which is?" Rachel pressed, absolutely dying to know by this point.

"Annarose Lullaby Berkeley Allen. A-L-B-A. Alba."

"That's really neat," she grinned, then pouted and Quinn thought the little pixie looked adorable, even if she tried to deny it. "My name doesn't do that."

"Hmm," the other girl hummed.

"Why do keep your face covered?" Brittany blurted in her Brittany way.

"If I'm not mistake you four are in my first hour, correct?" the four nodded. "Right, so you heard my conversation with Mr. Herzog, did you not?" again, they nodded. "Well, there you go. You knew the answer to your own question this whole time. You're very fortunate."

Rachel huffed before Santana or Quinn could snap at the bunny for mocking them. "What kind of skin condition were you born with? One of my fathers is a doctor, maybe he can help you."

"I'm not treatable," she said quietly. "And my condition has no name because it's never occurred before, except in a book."

"And what happened to the character in the book?" Brittany liked stories.

"They died."

"You sure know how to bring down a convo," Santana muttered scathingly.

"I wasn't aware this discussion was even in the vicinity of "up", but you make a valid point. I'm very pessimistic. You may find that you want to kill yourself after talking to me for more than ten minutes," Alba informed them, turning a page of her book. She hadn't actually been reading, but she'd read that book eight times already.

"Doesn't that bother you?" Rachel inquired.

"Occasionally."

"Are you always so evasive?" that was Quinn.

"Yes, I am. I pride myself in my elusive tendencies," they could all four hear the smile in her voice.

"Well, I'll just have to change that," Rachel declared in a very Rachel fashion.

* * *

**AN: Mmkay, that was the first chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it. There will be more of Alba and the rest of the characters will most definitely be in the next chapter.**

**~Elphaba Snow Thropp**


	2. Auditions

**AN: Mmkay, this is the second chapter. It will immediately start off with glee auditions. You'll never guess who shows up! **

* * *

Rachel sat in between Will Schuester and Shelby Corcoran with a cup of coffee in hand and a yawn breaking out of her throat. The three of them were sitting in the McKinley High School auditorium on a Saturday afternoon with their heads leaning against each other, mostly for moral support and because they were all three up at two that morning trying to quiet Beth, not to mention the other two. They were on their seventh cup of coffee. Their fourth had come while dropping off the three children at Rachel's dads' house so they could conduct auditions in peace.

The three children were Beth, Olivia, and Ophelia. Beth was Shelby's and Will and Shelby were now living together as they'd been dating for eight months and Rachel stayed at Shelby's from Friday through Sunday. Olivia, who went by Olive and Ophelia, who was mostly called Luce (Lucy) which was her middle name, were Rachel's. Well, technically, their legal guardians were Rachel's fathers, but they were left in her name. Rachel had a young cousin who was born with cystic fibrosis. Both of her pregnancies were very high risk due to her condition and she was always in and out of the hospital, so the girls usually stayed with Rachel's dads for weeks at a time. At the beginning of the summer, her cousin died and left her children in Rachel's care. Olive had just turned three and Luce was almost one. They went where Rachel went, so when she went to stay and Shelby's (and Will's), they went as well. It was very much like being a parent. Too much, in fact.

Moving on, it was Saturday and usually glee club auditions would have been held after school, but there was too much going on after school the Friday before, so Will moved it to Saturday. So far, they'd been through eighteen people; Rachel, Kurt, Quinn, Puck, Finn, Santana, Brittany, Tina, Artie, Mercedes, Mike, this kid named Sam who was actually very good, this girl named Marie who was all right, another girl named Holly who wasn't good, but she wasn't bad either and three horrible people who shall not be named. They were so bad that Rachel, Shelby and Will had to cover their eyes because it hurt them to watch. Besides those three and Holly, everyone had made it, obviously. Then there was this guy named Leo who performed I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2 and it was phenomenal. He was definitely in.

Everyone was ready to pack up and leave when a Rachel sized form appeared on the stage with a stool and a guitar. The person put the stool down center stage, sat down, adjusted the microphone so it was able to hear the guitar and their voice, and then they began to strum an upbeat melody on the guitar with dexterous fingers.

"_You were in college working part time, waiting tables.  
Left a small town, never looked back.  
I was a flight risk with a fear of falling,  
Wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts._

"_I say "Can you believe it?"  
As we're lying on the couch.  
The moment I can see it.  
Yes, yes, I can see it now._

"_Do you remember we were sitting there by the water?  
You put your arm around me for the first time.  
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter.  
You are the best thing that's ever been mine."_

This voice was nowhere near Taylor Swift's. This voice was unlike anything any of them had ever heard. It was high and low and everything in between. When high, it was could be gentle and when it was low, it could be smoky, while still remaining powerful and enthralling. This girl was no Rachel Berry, but she sure could challenge the diva.

"_Flash forward and we're taking on the world together.  
And there's a drawer of my things at your place.  
You learned my secrets and you figured out why I'm guarded.  
You say we'll never make my parents' mistakes._

"_But we've got bills to pay.  
We've got nothing figured out.  
When it was hard to take, yes, yes,  
This is what I thought about…_

"_Do you remember we were sitting there by the water?  
You put your arm around me for the first time.  
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter.  
You are the best thing that's ever been mine."_

"_Do you remember all the city lights on the water?  
You saw me start to believe for the first time.  
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter.  
You are the best thing that's ever been mine._

"_And I remember that fight, 2:30 am  
Cuz everything was slipping right out of my hands.  
I ran out crying and you followed me out into the street._

"_Braced myself for the goodbye cuz that's all I've ever known,  
But you took me by surprise: You said,  
"I'll never leave you alone"._

"_You said, "I remember how we felt sitting by the water,  
And every time I look at you, it's like the first time,  
I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter,  
You are the best thing that's ever been mine._

"_Hold on, make it last.  
Hold on, never turn back._

"_You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter.  
You are the best thing that's ever been mine.  
Yeah, yeah, do you believe it?  
We're gonna make it now._

"_I can see it, yeah, yeah.?  
I can see it, I can see it now."_

When she was done, she got off the stool and stood up with her guitar at her side, waiting. At some point, the stage lights had dimmed, so her features weren't that visible, but she was wearing a dress.

"Sweetie, what is your name?" Shelby asked as she shuffled through some papers.

Instead of answering, the girl exited stage right and made her way swiftly down the aisle, which weren't very well lit either. She slowed as she approached the table they were at and hesitated, chancing a glance at the other glee club members before reaching out a small arm and point to the paper directly in front of Will.

Shelby was a very skilled actress. She knew how to fake a smile perfectly, she knew how to keep people from knowing that she was hurting, she was excellent at hiding her fear, and she was very experienced at concealing laughter, but nothing, absolutely nothing prepared her for the sight that was more or less smacking her in the face at that very moment. It _had_ to be a trick of the light, didn't it? No one could truly be… it just wasn't possible. Maybe she was playing with them. Maybe it was not real. Well, real or not, the gasps everyone was sucking through their teeth indicated that she hadn't completely lost her mind yet, so that was always a good sign.

"You're green," Rachel mumbled, staring at the girl with a blank expression. The girl nodded.

"Why are you green?" Kurt was the second person to recover from the initial shock.

The girl shrugged. "I was born this way."

Whoa, wait! Quinn knew that voice. It was instantly recognizable. No one else had her unique voice type.

"Alba?" Rachel blinked. Here was this girl who refused to show anyone her skin, was the epitome of all things pessimistic, and wore black all the time, standing in front of her with a gray, strapless dress, gray flip flops, straight black hair almost as long as her arms, deep brown, intense eyes, an acoustic guitar, an amazing, one of a kind voice and green skin. And she had the nerve to sing Taylor Swift.

"Yes. I am."

"I don't know what to say," that was a Rachel Berry first.

"Am I in or not?"

"Yes," Shelby jumped in finally, shaking out of her stupor before her boyfriend was able to. "You're in."

"Okay. Now what?"

"We have rehearsals Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays starting at the beginning of the week," Will answered that question, still in his daze.

"Okay, but I can't make it to Wednesday's rehearsal because I have a doctor's appointment right after school," she let them know, eyeing the way they were eyeing her. When no one said anything for several seconds, she sighed and walked out of the auditorium.

There was a long beat of silence before Rachel broke it. "Did that really just happen?"

Shelby couldn't help herself and she just had to reply. _"Have I actually understood this weird quirk I've tried to suppress or hide is a talent that could help me meet the Wizard?"_

"Nice one, Mom, but no, seriously. Did we all just a green girl in here?" she just wanted confirmation.

"Yes, Berry, we did," that was Quinn that time.

"Okay, then that means I haven't gone completely insane yet. That's always a good sign," she sighed in relief and leaned her forehead against her mother's shoulder. Shelby chuckled at her voiced thoughts.

"Did Bunny really just sing Taylor Swift?" Santana wanted to know.

"I know. That didn't even sound like her," Quinn agreed as everyone began standing up to leave. "And I call her Bunny. You can't steal it."

Santana merely shrugged.

"I still can't believe she's green. Do you think that's her real skin color?" Mercedes sounded suspicious. What kind of person walks around in green make up all damn day?

"I couldn't be too sure. We can find out later," Rachel decided, gathering her things after her mom and Will left the building.

"Maybe she really does have skin condition," Tina pointed out, leaving the auditorium with Artie.

"No one is green, Tina," Kurt called after her, leaving behind Mike, and Finn.

"Green or not, she's got great boobs," Puck added in, leaving with Santana and Brittany, which left Rachel and Quinn alone.

"Do you want some help?" Quinn offered, reaching forward to take Rachel's papers from her hands.

"Excuse me?"

"I said do you want-"

Rachel interrupted her. "No, I know what you said; I'm just confused as to why you offered to help me."

"Friends help friends, Berry," the blonde chuckled, startling Rachel.

"We're friends?" she was clearly baffled.

"Well, more like tolerated acquaintances, but B likes you, so I figure, why don't I give it a try, you know?" she was trying to be light hearted, but she probably sounded like a bitch when she said it.

"Good to know," Rachel responded dryly as they walked outside.

"Wait, no, Berry, that's not what I meant-"

"Oh, _perfect_," the brunette frowned, stopping in her tracks causing the Cheerio to bump into her back at the abrupt halt.

"What?"

"Them," she pointed at Shelby and Will. Quinn's eyes widened to the size of saucers at what she saw. Shelby was pulling Will to the back of her SUV with a seductive grin plastered on her face. Was she really going to have sex with her boyfriend in the back of her car? The question was answered when Rachel sat down on a nearby bench. "Well, I guess I just have to wait."

"Do they do that a lot?" Quinn wondered, sitting down next to her.

"A lot more lately, but I don't mind. They're in love, they like sex, so who am I to come between them?" Rachel reasoned with a fond smile, looking up when Santana and Brittany approached. "Hey."

"Hi. We're about to leave with Puck," Brittany informed, grabbing Rachel's hand to swing back and forth with hers.

"Yeah, are you coming with, Tubbers?"

"No, I think I'm gonna stay here with Rachel," Quinn decided, surprising the hell out of the mini diva.

"Okay," Santana shrugged, offering her pinky to her friend, but Brittany had other plans. She pulled Rachel up and into a long, slow, wet kiss in which Rachel was caught off guard so she sort of flapped her arms around for the first four seconds into the kiss. She finally calmed down enough to wrap her arms around the Cheerio's neck and actually respond to the kiss. It began to escalate when Brittany's hands traveled down the length of Rachel's back and a little lower, which was when Santana felt it appropriate to end it. "What the fuck is this?"

Brittany pulled back and linked pinkies with her best friend. "San, it's time to go."

"But-" the Latina was cut off when Brittany skipped off to Puck's vehicle.

Quinn decided to wait a few long moments before saying something to the shell-shocked Jew. "What the fuck was that?"

Rachel open and closed her mouth several times. What the fuck _was_ that? Brittany just kind of blindsided her with that. Of course they had gotten a lot closer in the past week, but that was just kind of like… out there. She didn't know where that even came from. "I don't know… if we're being perfectly honest here. I don't believe Santana approved of it though. I would ask Brittany later what this was about, but I highly doubt I would get a direct answer, so I'll save that feat for you."

"One of my best friends just tongue fucked your mouth and you don't have the slightest idea why? How is that even possible?" the blonde interrogated, suspiciously. There was a pang of something that went off in her belly, but she tried to ignore it.

"Well, it _is_ Brittany," Rachel stated and that was all she needed to do.

Quinn nodded and made the decision to change the subject. "Um, so how long do we have to wait for them?" she gestured to Shelby's SUV that was shifting from side to side.

"Oh, not too long. Mom hasn't been able to last very long lately and when she does, she usually orgasms twice," the high maintenance Berry informed, matter-of-factly.

Quinn made a face. "Why do you know that?" God, Berry could be such a freak.

"Their room is right next to mine and they're not exactly quiet and after a while I was able to distinguish her different sounds and when she's screaming out "Will!" and the f-word over and over for like three minutes, I figure she's either orgasm twice or once for a really long time."

"That must suck, but you don't _have_ to stay home and listen to them," the almost head cheerleader reasoned, still a little freaked out that Berry listened to her mom and Spanish teacher fucking.

"Yes, I do. There's only so many places I can go with-" she cut herself off when she saw her mom and Will exiting the trunk of the SUV and she stood abruptly, pointing to the couple. "Oh, look, they're done. We can go."

Quinn didn't have the chance to ask Rachel what she was going to say to end her sentence because she was hurriedly following Rachel to her mother's vehicle. Both girls slid into the backseat, while the adults took the front seats; Shelby in the driver's seat and Will in the passenger's seat. Rachel was fidgeting with the hem of her skirt when they pulled out of the school parking lot and promptly jumped so high in her seat that her head actually hit the roof of the car when Shelby asked if Quinn was coming back to their house.

"Oh… I-I… don't think that… I don't think Quinn would want that," Rachel sputtered, her eyes widening at how difficult it was becoming to form words.

"Okay, Rach, are you okay? Did something happen?" Shelby inquired, glancing at her daughter through her rear view mirror.

"Yeah, Brittany just shoved her tongue down Berry's throat," Quinn muttered with something akin to resentment in her voice.

"Whoa, what?" That was Will that time.

"Quinn!" Rachel exclaimed, before her face broke out in a blush of extreme embarrassment. "I don't think that was something they really needed to know and no, Mom, other than that, nothing happened. I just don't think Quinn should come over."

"Why?" And then it hit Quinn. Beth. "Oh, if this is about Beth, it's not a big deal. I don't even have to see her or anything. I know that you're her mom, Shelby. I won't try to like take her from you or anything. I-"

"It's not Beth, Quinn," Shelby interrupted her quickly, but quietly.

"It's not? But then what?" Quinn was puzzled. What other reason would Berry have for not wanting her to come over to their house?

"I have my reasons," the diva responded, resignedly.

That one statement alone had Quinn seeing red, but she simply nodded and steamed over it silently. What reasons did Treasure Trail have for not wanting her come over? I mean, she was Quinn fucking Fabray. She was not so much of a fool to think that everyone wanted her or anything, but even after having Beth, she was still higher up on the social ladder than RuPaul. Having the midget reject her was just unacceptable. She would not stand for this. This was close to blasphemy in her book.

* * *

Quinn did not approach Rachel the next day or the next day or the next day or the next day or the next day or the next day after that about the conversation in the car a week and a half ago. She knew if she began to question the brunette on it that she would slowly loose her patience when Rachel would surely answer her with her very Berry answer, which meant a friggin' paragraph. So she kept quiet about it so as not to upset Brittany because the taller blonde seemed to really, _really_ like having Rachel around and Quinn was not going to be selfish and screw that up. She wasn't like that anymore. She had changed. She knew she had.

Now, that's not to say that they didn't see each other. They did see one another frequently, due to their mutual friend, but neither spoke of what had been driving Quinn insane for the past ten days. Instead, Quinn remained uncharacteristically quiet and Rachel was Rachel, only sexier since she continued to dress just a provocatively as she had on the first day. It still amazed Quinn that her parents let her go out of the house in half the things she comes to school in. Not that she or anyone else was complaining.

The blonde was walking to glee at the moment. She still had ten minutes, meaning she would get their early, meaning she would be faced with Berry alone, meaning they would be forced into a conversation, meaning Quinn would inevitably bring up with happened in the car, meaning she would get annoyed with Rachel's answers, meaning she will have screwed up everything, meaning she hadn't changed. But! The fact of the matter was, was that she had already stepped into the Rachel inhabited choir room.

The brunette stood in the middle of the room with her head cocked to the side, staring at the floor with the most profound look of intense concentration on her face as if trying to get the floor to respond to something she'd said to it before Quinn even entered the room. Her right leg was twisted behind her left leg and she was twirling a lock of her long, dark hair around one of her index fingers with her cell phone gripped tightly in her other hand like it was a lifeline. Quinn was startled by the forlorn expression on her face. Her eyes were so detached and this was one look the Cheerio did not like seeing on the diva.

"Berry," she tried, stepping further into the room. Rachel didn't budge, so she moved closer to her. "Berry," she attempted again, but Rachel still would not acknowledge her, so she placed a pale hand on her shoulder.

"Quinn," Rachel's monotonous voice made Quinn hyper aware of the stunning silence that filled the room following the sound. "Quinn, everything's wrong, you know."

"What?" Now Quinn was truly lost.

"Everything is just so… out of place. Nothing fits together anymore. Everything's breaking. I don't know what to do, Quinn," Rachel all but moaned out, throwing herself at the slightly frightened cheerleader.

"Berry, what are you talking about and what are you doing?"

The diva sighed, not dramatically, trudged to her seat and plopped down unceremoniously. "It's nothing, Quinn. Forget I even said anything at all."

* * *

**AN: So, there is the second chapter. You will hear more about the babies and why everything is wrong in Rachel's world in the next chapter. **

**~Elphaba Snow Thropp**


	3. Mad Mutterings

**AN: And here's the third chapter. And any questions anyone has will be answered during the story. I should probably tell you some stuff. Shelby still works with Vocal Adrenaline and the seniors that graduated on the show last year (meaning Jesse and his crew) are seniors this year in my story. Also, the reason Shelby was at New Directions auditions was not to spy, but because Will asked her to come and help out. They are not enemies… obviously.**

* * *

Today, Rachel Berry was wearing argyle. Today, Rachel Berry was wearing her new favorite argyle sweater. Today, Rachel Berry didn't get slushied for her fashion choice. Today, Rachel Berry got ogled by jocks as per usual this year. Today, though, Rachel Berry couldn't give two shits about what anyone thought of her. Today was not a good day for the pint sized brunette. Today was not a good day for her at all, but she wouldn't let anyone else know that. It was none of their business. Besides, no one cared enough to ask her what was wrong anyway. And she was already in glee.

Today, Rachel Berry found out something that would change her life forever in so many ways. She had known it was coming for a while now, but actually knowing for sure made the reality of it all just overwhelming. She had to tell her parents… all three of them. She briefly wondered how angry they would be, but pushed that thought aside. She was helping someone. They shouldn't be angry at her for helping someone. That's what her dads raised her to do. So, she was doing just that, even if it meant giving up so many opportunities. Opportunities that she probably would've turned down anyway, but opportunities nonetheless.

"Hey, Rachel, are you okay?" Leave it to Alba to ask that now.

"Yes, I am. I'm perfectly fine. Why do you ask?" Yeah, so Rachel was not in the mood for paragraphs today.

"Apart from the fact that you have been staring dismally at the floor for the past fifteen minutes, you just lied because I know for a fact that no one is ever perfectly fine, especially you, so tell me what's wrong." And apparently Alba was in the mood for paragraphs today.

"Why do you care?"

"Why wouldn't I care? The fact of the matter is that I do care and I would like to know what's wrong. I'm not going to press you for information, but I am here should you need someone to talk to," the green girl let her know softly, leaning back in her seat. Rachel nodded, but otherwise didn't say anything as Mr. Schuester walked into the room with intent.

"Okay, guys, now, two rehearsals ago I told you to find an introduction song. A song that describes better than any other song, so the group will get a sense of who you are, where you come from, what you like and things like that. Now, who would like to go first?" And of course, Rachel's hand went up first. "All right, Rachel, show us what you got."

"I've already seen what she's got and trust me, she can keep it," Kurt whispered smugly to Mercedes who snickered.

"Thank you, Schuester."

The diva stood up and signaled for the band, which they did. Everyone was happily surprised to hear the beat of a Paramore song blaring through the room.

"_If I'm a bad person, you don't like me  
Well, I guess I'll make my own way.  
It's a circle, I mean cycle;  
I can't excite you anymore._

"_Where's your gavel? Your jury?  
What's my offense this time?  
You're not a judge, but  
If you're gonna judge me  
We'll sentence me to another life."_

This did not sound like Rachel Berry at all. Well, it did, obviously, but the song was so not what any of them were expecting, as opposed to something by Barbara Streisand or something from Broadway. But Paramore was just not Rachel Berry. Then again, Rachel Berry this year was starting to show some signs of changing, so maybe this song did fit her now.

"_Don't wanna hear your sad songs,  
I don't wanna feel your pain.  
When you swear it's all my fault  
'Cause you know we're not the same  
No, we're not the same, oh, we're not the same._

"_We're the friends who stuck together,_  
_We wrote our names in blood._  
_But I guess you can't accept that the change is good_  
_It's good, it's good._

_"Well, you treat me just like another stranger._  
_Well, it's nice to meet you, sir._  
_I guess I'll go, I best be on my way out._

_"You treat me just like another stranger._  
_Well, it's nice to meet you, sir._  
_I guess I'll go, I best be on my way out._

_"Ignorance is your new best friend._  
_Ignorance is your new best friend._

_"This is the best thing that could've happened,_  
_Any longer and I wouldn't have made it._  
_It's not a war, no, it's not a rapture_  
_I'm just a person but you can't take it._

_"The same tricks that, that once fooled me_  
_They won't get you anywhere._  
_I'm not the same kid from your memory,_  
_Well, now I can fend for myself._

_"Don't wanna hear your sad songs_  
_I don't wanna feel your pain._  
_When you swear it's all my fault_  
_'Cause you know we're not the same_  
_No, we're not the same, oh, we're not the same._

_"Yeah, we used to stick together,_  
_We wrote our names in blood._  
_But I guess you can't accept that the change is good_  
_It's good, it's good._

_"Well, you treat me just like another stranger._  
_Well, it's nice to meet you, sir._  
_Well, I guess I'll go, I best be on my way out._

_"You treat me just like another stranger._  
_Well, it's nice to meet you, sir._  
_Well, I guess I'll go, I best be on my way out._

_"Ignorance is your new best friend._  
_Ignorance is your new best friend._  
_Ignorance is your new best friend._  
_Ignorance is your new best friend._

_"Well, you treat me just like another stranger._  
_Well, it's nice to meet you, sir._  
_Well, I guess I'll go, I best be on my way out._

_"You treat me just like another stranger._  
_Well, it's nice to meet you, sir._  
_I guess I'll go, I best be on my way out."_

Once Rachel ended her song, she patiently waited for her applause, which was a little belated due to the dropped jaws all around the room. No one –repeat no one, expected anything like that from Rachel Berry.

"Well, Rachel, that was certainly telling. Thank you for going first," Mr. Schuester smiled fondly at her, but it was obvious he didn't know that was going to happen either. "Anyone wanna go next?"

"I will," Alba volunteered, standing up with her guitar. Today, she sported at short sleeve black dress with black flip flops, a black scarf and a black beanie. Her hair was actually naturally curly, but still incredibly long; it went down a little past her hips, but her bangs were pulled back with a little bobby pin. She stepped to the middle of the choir room and began to strum her fingers.

"_Ooo, yeah, yeah, yeah.  
I was born off an old dirt road,  
40 acre farm, no highway, no interstate.  
And I drive an old, rusted out Chevrolet.  
Boys all rubbin' neck, while they're out making hay._

"_Hey, I'm a wildflower, growin' in the sunshine,  
Soakin' up the way of life I was raised in.  
Runnin' barefoot, blooming in a summer shower,  
Pony-tail, dancin', I can't help it, I'm a wildflower.  
Ooo, yeah, ooo, yeah._

"_There's a little cotton dress hangin' in my sister's closet,  
I think I'm gonna borrow it and wear it this weekend.  
Painted my toes, bought some cherry lip gloss,  
No rose, no daisy can touch what I got._

"_Yeah, I'm a wildflower, growin' in the sunshine,  
Soakin' up the way of life I was raised in.  
Runnin' barefoot, blooming in a summer shower,  
Pony-tail, dancin', I can't help it, I'm a wildflower.  
Ooo, yeah, ooo, yeah._

"_I'm just a girl who needs a little sun, a little rain,  
An open field to play._

"_Hey, I'm a wildflower, growin' in the sunshine,  
Soakin' up the way of life I was raised in.  
Runnin' barefoot, blooming in a summer shower,  
Pony-tail, dancin', I can't help it, I'm a wildflower._

"_I'm a wildflower, growin' in the sunshine,  
Soakin' up the way of life I was raised in.  
Runnin' barefoot, blooming in a summer shower,  
Pony-tail, dancin', I can't help it, I'm a wildflower.  
Ooo, yeah, ooo, yeah, I'm a wildflower.  
Ooo, yeah, ooo, yeah, I'm a wildflower.  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm a wildflower."_

Alba finished her song and walked meekly back to her seat after everyone clapped. Rachel gave her a weak smile and a thumbs up and she smiled back. Rachel really was something else, let me tell you what.

* * *

"Rachel," Brittany called softly, waving her hand in front of the diva's blanked face almost a week later. They were standing in front of Rachel's locker with Santana and Quinn having a conversation after school before they all left for the weekend. "Rachel, are you even listening to San?"

Rachel blinked rapidly. "I… um, what's- what are we talking about?"

"Rachel, are you okay? Your face was all blank like mine when I think about my cat reading my diary," the tall blonde Cheerio pointed out, putting a hand on the other girl's shoulder.

"Yeah, Berry, you haven't ranted once about your plans for this weekend." It was Santana who said this, not Quinn because Quinn and Rachel weren't on speaking terms after what happened in the choir room two weeks ago. Rachel hadn't said anything on the matter and Quinn was too tired from school and Cheerio's and dating Sam to care enough to ask her about it, so she went back to ignoring the brunette.

Rachel shrugged. "I guess I'm just tired."

"If you say so," the Latina shrugged as well, linked pinkies with Brittany, and the pair headed for the entrance to the school, leaving Rachel and Quinn by themselves.

"So…" the blonde began. She saw this as her one opportunity to ask Rachel about her strange behavior.

"Don't, Quinn. I'm in no mood for small talk," Rachel admitted tiredly, moving to leave also, but Quinn grabbed her arm.

"You're lying," her tone was accusatory.

"_Excuse_ me?"

"Something's been bothering you for a while now and I wanna know what it is."

"Why do you care, Quinn? Since when have you cared about me?" The question hit Quinn in the chest hard. The air was knocked out of her body and she for once didn't know how to respond. When _had_ she started to care? When Rachel suddenly changed over the summer? When Rachel refused to let Quinn come to her mother's house? Or when Rachel threw her dainty arms around Quinn in the choir room? When did it all start? The blonde didn't know how to answer her own questions and Rachel must've seen this in her eyes. "That's what I thought. Goodbye, Ms. Fabray."

And then she was gone.

* * *

"Rachel, seriously, you haven't been listening at all, have you?" Finn was getting very frustrated at his friend. She was supposed to be tutoring him, but she kept spacing out on his. He really needed help in chemistry and she was really good at chemistry, but she wasn't paying him any attention. So, you see his dilemma. He knew coming to Rachel wasn't the best idea, but she was his only hope of passing and also he was kind of hoping they could maybe get back together, which was why he was sitting in the kitchen of her mom's house with said my and his Spanish teacher upstairs with Beth, the little girl who he thought was his once upon a time.

"I'm sorry, Finn. I've just got so much on my mind. Can we try this again some other time?" the brunette sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"Rach, I don't have some other time! The test is on Monday."

"Well, that's not my problem. You should've come to me sooner than this if you wanted to-" The doorbell cut her off. She sighed once again and went to get the door with Finn in tow. She opened the door to reveal none other than Quinn Fabray. Quinn? "Quinn?"

Quinn's smile was an easy one. "Hi, Rachel… Finn."

"Quinn, what are you doing here?" Finn interrogated before Rachel got the chance.

"I want to talk to Rachel if that's okay," she sounded so uncharacteristically shy that it made the diva smile a little.

"Yeah, that's okay. Finn, talk to Artie. He's better at chemistry than I am," Rachel instructed and Finn nodded reluctantly and left. Once Finn was gone, she turned back to Quinn. "You wanna come in?"

"Actually, can you come out?" The Cheerio captain tried to hide the hope in her voice, but at the glee club captain's smile she knew she had failed.

The tiny hummingbird hesitated, glancing back inside the home. "I don't know… if I can. My mom would have to… I have responsibilities, Quinn…" she blew out her breath and shook her head. "Where are we going?"

The grin Quinn flashed was nothing short of dazzling. "My house… oh, well my… my apartment. My mom helped me pay for it because she knows things between us can't go back to the way they were, but I have like a job now, so… so, I pay for rent and she covers utilities. And yeah, you wanna maybe go back to place with me?"

"Yes, Quinn, I would love that."

No more than twenty minutes later are the two girls are standing awkwardly in the living room of Quinn's apartment. Neither of the two knew what to say let alone what not to say or what to start with. Mostly for Rachel, it was all about exploring Quinn's apartment, her sanctuary, her very own private space. The smaller of the two was in awe of the fact that she was brought here by someone who was supposed to hate her. This didn't happen to someone in her spot on the social ladder at all, even if she was friends with Brittany. She was past the point of no return.

"So… what do you think?" Why did Quinn sound so nervous? And why did Rachel find it so cute?

"I think…" Rachel ran a lone finger across the back of Quinn's sofa. "Why am I here?"

"I want you to tell me what's going on without being able to leave when you want."

"And people say I'm blunt," Rachel muttered before turning back to the other girl. "Listen, Quinn, if this about people being worried about my singing in glee, what's happening with me is not going to affect it at all."

"What _is_ happening to you, Rachel?" Quinn implored, pulling Rachel down to sit on the sofa with her.

"Things, Quinn. Okay, just… it's nothing I can't handle, all right? No one needs to worry…" she trailed off, her gaze going slightly glossy. "Quinn?"

"What?"

"How is a raven like a writing desk?"

Quinn paused. "Isn't that from Alice in Wonderland? The Mad Hatter, am I right?"

Rachel's full lips curved up into a wry smile. "You are correct. I was watching that movie with…" she sucked in a breath, preparing for the worst. "… with my kids and my sister and that quote just seemed to kind of stand out to me in more ways than one and I've been pondering it for quite some time."

"Whoa, wait, back up when did you get kids and a sister… wait, no, I knew about the sister. But kids? Explain, please." Quinn was expecting… well, she didn't know what she was expecting, but nothing to this extent. Rachel Berry was the dramatic one and everyone knew it, but no one expected her life to be.

Rachel's smile came at Quinn full force and her brown eyes lit with elation. "I have two little girls, Olivia and Luce. Olive is what we call Olivia just turned three and Luce is about to turn one. Their mother was a cousin of mine, she died of cystic fibrosis and she left the three- um, the two of them to me. My dads are their legal guardians, but they are mine. They stayed with me all the time when their mother was alive because she was in and out of the hospital. They… they call me Mama and Mommy, Quinn. They're so precious to me. They are perfection and I love them with all my heart. I can't imagine my life without them."

"Are they what's happening to you? Are you still adjusting to having kids or-"

"No, no, that's not it at all. They're wonderful. I've adjusted beautifully. It's not them," she finished in a whisper.

"What then, Rachel? What is wrong? Please, tell me. I won't tell anyone. This is just you and me. I know I don't even deserve to be asking you about your personal problems, but B and I are genuinely worried about you. Britt just didn't know how to ask without you giving her a long winded answer that she won't even be able to understand and I know you, Rachel. I know you so well that it kind of scares me a little bit. So, please tell me what's wrong and then tell me how I can help you." Quinn was so shocked by her own words that she couldn't even bring herself to be shocked at Rachel's.

"Make love to me."

"I- what?" Where had _that_ come from? Rachel would _never_ say anything like that. Why was the world shifting so suddenly?

* * *

**AN: So, I personally didn't like this chapter, but I would like to know what my readers think about it.**

**~Elphaba Snow Thropp **


	4. Need

**AN: So, I didn't really like that last chapter, but I'm not changing it, so I'll just get over it and move on with this chapter. More things are revealed in this chapter about why Rachel is so out of it.**

* * *

"I'm sorry… I-I… don't know why I… I should go," Rachel shook her head furiously, heading toward the door. What was she thinking? Springing that request on Quinn like that? She needed to go home and think. She needed to think a lot and maybe avoid the cheerleader for the rest of forever.

"Wait, Rachel," Quinn grabbed her arm before she could make it to the door.

"Please, just let me leave," the diva pleaded softly and desperately. She just wanted to go home.

"No. You can't just run out on me after asking a question like that. You can't do that. I didn't even have time to process it, let alone answer it. Just stop moving for a second," the blonde said, pulling Rachel back over to the sofa with her. She needed some time to process this at least a little bit. It came completely out of nowhere.

"It technically wasn't a question. It was in between a request and command," Rachel pointed out, shifting away from her.

Quinn raised her eyebrows. "Berry, I'm not going to bite you."

"Unless I ask you to," she finished breezily, causing the other girl to laugh.

"You've been talking to Puck too much."

Rachel nodded. "Yes, I just realized that. Can I leave now?"

"Why do you keep trying to leave me? Jeez, you act like I'm gonna shoot you. You're not leaving. You're going to sit here and tell me what the hell is going on with you. And don't give me any bullshit, either because I know you. You're not a bullshitter, so just tell me what's going on and what possessed you to command me to "make love to you". I'm not gonna tell anyone, I promise." Quinn knew she was putting herself into some deep shit here by asking Rachel what was wrong. Not only would she have to carry the weight of the girl's secrets, she would also have talk about it with her. It was only a small problem because while Quinn was still a little miffed about what happened in the car a while ago, she kind of, sort of cared about the little teenager's well being, if only to compensate for all the years she tortured her.

"This isn't your burden to bear, Quinn," the hummingbird sighed deeply.

"I don't care. I want to bear it. I'm asking you. Tell me."

"Fine," the brunette glared as the blonde positioned herself closer to her on the sofa. "I just…" she took a long, deep breath. "This is hard, Quinn. I'm so used to dealing with things on my own. I've never actually needed anyone –my parents excluded, but I am so overwhelmed. Everything is so real; I just want time to stop for two seconds so I can… so I can figure out what I'm doing. I feel as though I don't know anything anymore. I want… I need someone. I need someone and I guess since you were there, you were always there, always so persistent, even more so than Finn… I thought you were what I needed. That _we_ were what I needed. You were the only one that cared enough to ask. I thought you could give me what I need, but I was wrong. I don't need you or anyone else. I don't need-"

Quinn brought a hand up to silence her, trying to piece together what she was being told. Rachel needed her; forget what she said about _not_ needing her. She, Quinn Fabray, was what Rachel Berry needed. "Why do you need me?"

"Quinn, I clearly just said I don't-"

"Why, Rachel?" she insisted.

The diva stared at her for a long time, trying to see the sadistic mirth in Quinn's eyes or any sign that the Cheerio was toying with her. She found none, only genuine concern and a bit of confusion, so she continued on. "I have a best friend. His name is Michael. I've known him since I was two. He was home schooled, so no one ever knew about him at school. We did everything together. I loved him and he loved me. I was his June and he was my Johnny Cash. He was my world and I was his… up until seventh grade. He moved to Utah. Yes, before you ask, he is Mormon. He was always such a bad Mormon. He's like Noah, only Mormon and not such a jackass. Anyway, before he moved we made some promises to each other. We promised that we would be each others' first kiss –we promptly kissed after that– and that we would be each others' first sexual experience and that we would get married. Well, he moved back this summer and I was… beyond ecstatic.

"My life was finally back and I couldn't have been happier, but something was wrong. His older brother would've never have brought him back if something wasn't wrong. Evan, his brother, he didn't like me because of my dads, but I didn't give two craps about him either. So, I asked Michael why they came back and he told me… he-he told me… th-that…" Rachel's chin quivered at the words she was trying to force out. She hadn't been prepared for this, not now.

"Shh, Rach, you're okay. It's okay," Quinn gathered the singer in her arms, trying to soothe her.

"No, it's not okay, Quinn. He told me that he had leukemia!" she blurted, causing the fresh, hot tears that seemed to always be there ready to go to stream freely down her cheeks. She flushed and furiously tried to wipe them away. "Damn it, I said I wouldn't do this."

"Rachel, it's okay to cry," she was being told.

The dramatic teen snorted. "Try remembering that," she advised before standing up again. "And besides, I've cried enough. I don't need to cry anymore. I shouldn't even have any tears left to weep."

Quinn reached up and pulled Rachel down on to her lap, awkwardly wrapping her arms around the small figure in an effort to be comforting. "You don't have to finish if you don't want to."

Rachel sniffled, leaning her head back against Quinn's shoulder. "I don't want to, but I do have to. I haven't told anyone this. You're the only person that knows besides my family, including Schuester. It's just saying this… saying it out loud makes everything so much more real. I cried for a week nonstop after he told me. I didn't know what else to do, there was nothing I could do, but let it happen. I just can't believe he's… dying. It's so final. At least when he moved, I knew he was still here and he could come back to me. But there's no coming back after this. The doctors say he won't live through the month. I don't know what to do without him. I was a mess after he left, but I knew we would see each other again someday, somehow I knew. It happened and now, he's being taken away from me again for good this time. It's not fair, Quinn."

Quinn nodded, blinking back her own tears. It was unpleasant to hear a girl with such a big voice sounding so small and insignificant. "I know, Baby. I know."

Rachel waited a beat before speaking again. "We slept together."

"What?" the blonde released the brunette.

"Michael and I had sex… four times," she added for good measure. "I didn't think… it would be possible for me to hurt more knowing he's dying, but when… when I gave myself to him… I gave him everything…" her voice cracked with the raw emotion she was putting on display right now. "How am I supposed to just… let him die? He's taking a piece of me with him and it hurts. It hurts because I would never take back our nights together, but I will never have that with him again. I can't move past that, Quinn and I want to. I need to so badly. I don't want to end up bitter and resenting the whole world because God knows I don't have the time for that."

Quinn's mouth opened and closed several times. So many times that Rachel eventually tilted her head back to see why she had gone so quiet. At that moment, something inside the usually stoic cheerleader absolutely melted at the adorable sight of a pouting Rachel Berry. A smile couldn't be held back. "I have an idea." No, she really didn't. She was just about to pull something out of her ass.

"What is it?"

"You said you need me, right?" Rachel hesitantly nodded. "And I want to make you feel better, but let's face it, I'm no good at comforting people really. So let's say I pretend to be what you need, and I will try my hardest, and you pretend that I'm doing a good job."

"How will that help?" the smaller of the two wanted to know. "If it's just pretending?"

"Well, sometimes if you pretend hard enough, it becomes real after a while. Besides didn't you say things were too real right now? Trust me, we can make this work. I don't like seeing you all sad and stuff," she explicated strategically, resting her chin atop Rachel's head.

"Why? You didn't have a problem seeing me all sad and stuff before this year," she had to point that out. The response to this was too incredibly important. She had to know if Quinn was serious about all this. She had to know this wasn't a joke. She couldn't take it if it was.

"That's because I didn't take the time to get to know you before this year. You're still the same obnoxious, loud, bossy, narcissistic midget for before this year, but now that I know you a little better I know that there is more to you than meets the eye, plus you're also genuinely caring. It's hard to find a person you really cares about you during high school and you do care about everybody… even Santana, though I know you wouldn't admit it if your life depended on it."

…

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!

Rachel beamed a watery smile up at Quinn. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. It's not needed. I just want to help you, plus it'll help me score points with Britt that next time Santana and I get in a fight," Quinn chuckled, intertwining her pale fingers with tan ones.

That sat there together for some time; Rachel curled up on Quinn's lap with her head against the taller girl's shoulder, hands and arms intertwined, completely content. It was silent, the only sound being their steady breathing patterns that eventually came to match. Occasionally, Quinn would brush a stray curl away from Rachel's face and Rachel would squeeze her hand or press a soft kiss on her palm. A gorgeous stream of orange sunlight penetrated the glass window and landed across the living room floor indicating that the sun had begun to set, which for some reason struck a thought inside Rachel.

"Quinn?"

"Hmm?"

"This won't work," she murmured quietly.

"What do you mean? Why not?" The singer had to smile at the urgency and concern in the blonde's voice.

"You say you can pretend to be what I need, but… school is the toughest feat for me and I'd need you a lot and you can't be what I need at school, not when you're the head Cheerio again," she expounded blankly.

"Rachel, sweetie, that's precisely why I _can_ be what you need, in and out of school. No one will mess with you when you're with me. Also, S has already called off all slushy attacks aimed at you, so you won't have anything to worry about."

At that, a whimper sounded in the room. "Yes, I do. What if you decide you don't wanna be what I need anymore?"

Quinn rolled her eyes. "As long you need me, I'm yours."

"I'm asking a lot of you, Quinn and I don't want you to agree to this because you _think_ you can handle this," Rachel sat up and turned to look the other girl in the eye. "I need a lot. A lot more than I probably realize and I couldn't stand it if you-"

"Rae, I'm not going anywhere."

And that was that.

"I like that," the diva commented complacently.

"What is it?"

"Rae. I like it when you call me that," she was sure the smile in her voice was noticeable.

"Well, you're in luck because I like calling you that," the Cheerio giggled, placing a kiss on the top of Rachel's head. "So, Rae, is there anything you need from me, now?"

"Well…" the girl hesitated. "Yes."

"… well, what is it, sweetie?"

"I need you closer. I need you as close as humanly possible," Rachel bit her lip as she watch Quinn's facial expression change from one of confusion to wide eyed.

It was several second before Quinn spoke. "Then I guess I'll need to show you my bedroom, correct?"

Her only response was a nod.

* * *

Quinn woke the next morning to the sound of Rachel's tired and apologetic voice. Her eyes fluttered open and she squinted against the light pouring into the room from the open window. Why hadn't she closed the curtains again? Rachel, who was sitting at the edge of the bed with her back to Quinn and a sheet wrapped around her either sensed the other girl's discomfort or had been thinking the same thing because she got up to do just that before sitting back down. Her cell phone was pressed against her ear and she was silent for a few seconds, listening to someone.

The resident of the apartment took the moments of silence to examine her lover (?). Though she had done that and much more last night, all of last night, she couldn't get over how smooth and glorious and tasty Rachel's skin was. The stuff was addictive. Hell, this girl was addictive. The things she could do with her voice were far beyond anything anyone would've been able to imagine, not to mention the way her body moved, replying to the pleasure given to her. Quinn wouldn't have guessed Rachel was so… feisty in bed. She always seemed like the shy type when it came to sex… excluding that one time in the Celibacy Club.

"… no, Mom… no, I know… no, you don't need to come pick me up… Mom, I'm fine… no, Mom, I wasn't trying to give you a heart attack… Mom, I'm sorry, I just needed time to think on my own… of course not… it wasn't planned, I'd have told you… I know, Mom… yeah, I'll be home soon… I love you, too, bye." The call was ended and the cell phone was set on the nightstand. The girl let the sheet fall from her small body as she stood.

The girl in the bed gasped, causing the smaller one to jump in surprise and turn toward her. Quinn sat up. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you; it just amazes me how breathtaking you are. I don't know why it's taken you to be naked for me to see this."

Rachel smiled fondly. "That's because you never wanted to see it before."

"Are you leaving?" Quinn inquired softly.

"With your help, I hope unless you want me to steal your car," she joked to lighten the mood.

"I don't want you to leave," Quinn confessed, looking down.

"I know and I don't want to leave, but," the hummingbird climbed on the bed and moved over to where Quinn was sitting. "But I never told anyone where I was going until had actually left. I only sent a text to my mom telling her that I'd be back tomorrow and then I turned my phone off. That means I'm only marginally in trouble, but my girls are probably wondering where I am, so I have to go home."

The head cheerleader sighed and got up. "Then I guess we gotta get dressed."

"That we do," Rachel got up as well and began to search the room for her clothes, but after a few minutes all she found was her skirt and one sock. She showed the items to Quinn who of course laughed.

"If you want to get home soon, you might wanna just leave that here and I'll let you borrow some of my clothes. I'll look for your stuff when I get back and get them back to you at school, okay?"

"Are you sure? I don't want to inconvenience you," she said uncertainly.

"Rae, I spent most of last night with my head in between your thighs. I don't think you can inconvenience me at all," Quinn smirked at Rachel's rapidly growing blush.

"If you're sure."

"I am, besides I think I'll like seeing you in my clothes," she winked and went to fish out a pair of sweat pants that were too small for her and a black flannel shirt that was too big for her. She sat them on the bed and pulled the diva in front of her.

"What are you doing?" Said diva questioned, an amused smile playing at her lips.

"I'm dressing you myself," Quinn answered, tugging one of Rachel's arms through one of the sleeves of the shirt and then doing the same to the other, before beginning to button it up.

"I think you forgot something." Quinn raised a questioning eyebrow. "My undergarments."

Another teasing smirk replaced the raised eyebrow. "You don't need them. I like knowing that you're delicious bare breasts will be pressed against my shirt. It's so sexy."

Rachel rolled her eyes and leaned down to press a chaste kiss to the side of her lover's mouth. "Well, we know who the sex addict in this relationship is."

"Better believe it," the blonde grinned, helping Rachel into the sweatpants.

"Now what are you wearing? I would like to dress you."

"No need. I'm just putting on my Cheerio's sweats and I'll even go commando like you," she giggled at Rachel's cute little pout as she got dressed. Ah, that had to be the single most adorable thing on Earth.

"No fair," and the pout continued.

"You are just the cutest thing, you know," Quinn kissed away the pout, grabbing her keys off the nightstand along with Rachel's phone and dragging her out of the room.

"I know. I've been told," Rachel mumbled, secretly pleased.

* * *

They arrived at Shelby's house far too soon for both of the girls. One didn't want to get out of the car and the other didn't want her to. Neither could bring themselves to break the companionable silence that had settled on them once the car ride started. The brunette rested her head on the blonde's shoulder and heaved a sigh so as to break the silence before she could talk.

"Are we going to talk about this?"

Quinn glanced down at her. "I don't see why we should. You needed it and I provided it. Isn't that what we agreed on?"

Rachel grimaced at the fact that it sounded too much like a business deal when worded like that. "Well, yes, but we never spoke about boundaries."

"Do you want boundaries?"

"Do you?" she countered. "Don't answer now. I want you to think about it and call me later when you've figured it out. I should probably get out now. My mom and Schuester are peeking at us through the window. I probably won't see you until Monday."

"Damn, it's Saturday, isn't it?" Rachel nodded, looking down at her lap. "I don't want you to go, but you have too."

Rachel nodded again. "Can I have kiss?"

"You don't have to ask, Rae." The singer grinned and craned her neck up to capture thin, pink lips in between hers. A sigh was released from either pair and it fueled them both. Quinn forced her tongue into Rachel's mouth and the girl happily received her, swiping her own tongue past Quinn's. A wave of contentment and excitement washed over them and both knew they needed to quit while they were ahead.

Rachel pulled back first, gasping. "I'm never gonna get used to that."

"Me either," Quinn admitted, also breathless. She pressed their foreheads together and nudged a tan nose with her pale one affectionately. "You should go."

"I should," the hummingbird agreed, nodding her head, taking off her seatbelt and getting out of the car. She waited until she got to the front door before turning around to give Quinn a final goodbye wave and heading inside, stumbling backward with an idiotic smile on her face.

"Rachel Barbara Berry, where the _hell_ have you been?" Shelby bellowed in her Ms. Corcoran-is-gonna-whoop-your-ass voice, which was completely different from her Ms. Corcoran-doesn't-take-shit-from-anybody voice. They were both equally intimidating and usually only reserved for her Vocal Adrenaline kids. That thought made Rachel slightly nauseous.

"Mom, really, there's no need to yell. I was perfectly safe the entire time I was gone. I even sent you a text," she tried to soothe her mother's fury, but winced at how lame she was sounding, even to herself.

"Oh, you mean the one that said "won't be back 'til tomorrow. I'm fine"? That one? Rachel, how was I supposed to know it was really you? Someone could've stolen your phone and texted that to me. You could've at least called or better yet, came back home!" Now there really was no calming her mother down. She would know. They were exactly the same when they were angry.

"I know. I'm sorry, but I just needed some time to myself. I didn't mean to make you worry. That was never my intention. I was just looking for… something I needed." That was nicely worded, but then it made her think of Quinn, which then ended in an inevitable smile.

"Well, I'm guessing you found it due to the shit eating grin on your face."

"I did," Rachel couldn't stop her giddy giggle. She found what she needed. She found it and now she could move on and get better. And just maybe the tears would stop and she could heal.

"What is it?" Shelby sighed. She couldn't blame her daughter for this, not completely. She knew this whole Michael situation was tearing her up and she wanted to help her out, she did. She just didn't know what she could do, so she stuck to asking and using her instincts.

"Hmm?"

"This thing you found that you needed. What is it?"

"It isn't an it, it's a person and I can't tell you," Rachel frowned. She didn't want her family to know about this yet. Not when she was still struggling to figure everything out. She had only just found Quinn after all.

"What? You spent all night with this person and you refuse to tell me who it is?" There's that nasty temper again.

"No. I'm not refusing… well, okay, I am. But to be fair, you didn't tell me about Schuester until after you'd been dating for four months. I will tell you someday, but not now. It's too new. We haven't even figured out what we are yet. When we do, I'll let you know," the tiny diva exemplified, almost pleading with her mother to understand.

"Fine. I understand, but you will answer this question. Did you have sex?" Her mother interrogated, not unkindly or as an accusation. She just wanted to know.

"I… yes. Can I go to my room now?" she blew it out all in one breath, scurrying out of the room at Shelby's curt nod.

* * *

**AN: Yes, okay, I know this is rated M, but I hadn't planned on writing their sex scene until later. I hope you all can wait until then. Well, we have established that Rachel and Quinn and some semblance of a relationship. And Shelby grew some balls and is learning how to parent a teenage girl. Wish her luck.**

**~Elphaba Snow Thropp**


	5. Anger

**AN: So, a thing to take into consideration: I'm currently writing a Wicked story along with this one, so I'm incredibly sorry if I don't update as often as some of you would like. But I do have obligations to that story as well as this one. You're welcome to read it. It's called Under Every Scar and it's slightly AU, but not too much.**

* * *

That weekend Rachel and Shelby avoided each other like the plague. Shelby wasn't sure how to approach her daughter about sex and Rachel just found the whole thing incredibly awkward to talk about with her mother. Will was oblivious to the whole exchange, opting to play with Beth in between "playing" with Shelby. Not to say their whole relationship was just sex, but it did have plenty of that in there. The fact didn't bother Rachel much, having accidently walk in on her fathers sessions of intimacy a couple times too many.

On Monday, Rachel woke up earlier than usual to go for a short jog. She finished just in time to get in a quick shower, get the girls ready, get herself ready and have a light breakfast, which consisted of two granola bars for her and cereal for Olive and Luce. She gathered the girls and loaded them into her car, dropping them off at daycare and heading to school. The weekend had been draining and productive. Telling Quinn about Michael had been a relief, but not telling Michael about Quinn was killing her. She visited him every day, so she would eventually have to tell. She was no good at keeping things from him.

Michael was one of those best friends that most people never get the opportunity to have. He was one of those best friends that you could marry because nothing in the world mattered to them more than you did. He was one of those best friends who told you that he loved you every day even when you didn't need to hear it. He was one of those best friends that made you wanna go be president because of how much faith they had in you. He was one of those best friends who you didn't know how to go on if you lost them. And now he had leukemia and was supposed to be dead by the end of this month.

It took every ounce of strength Rachel possessed not to break down in front of her locker at that thought. The thought of losing her best friend forever was slightly traumatizing, but knowing it was actually going to happen sent it to a whole new level. Even with Quinn, she didn't know how she was going to handle losing Michael forever. It wasn't a thought she liked to entertain often.

"Hey there," a sweet, longing voice greeted her once she'd closed her locker.

"Hey, you," she smiled instantly upon seeing Quinn. "How was the rest of your weekend?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" the blonde countered, leaning against the lockers. "How did your mom take it?"

Rachel sighed, remembering the ordeal with her dramatic-if-nothing-else mother. "She was pissed, to say the least. She went on and on about how the text could've been from a kidnapper and how she didn't know if I was really okay, but then she calmed down and asked me-" she cut herself off right there, a blush slowly making its way up her neck.

"She asked you what?" Quinn urged, leaning forward.

"She asked me… if… if I had sex and I can't lie, Quinn. I'm horrible at it and she knows when I've slipped into actress mode, so that would've been futile. Please, don't be mad at me. I hadn't known she was gonna ask that and she doesn't know it was you. I didn't tell her it was you and…" the diva began to trail off, seeing Finn approach them. Did he stalk her now? She wasn't into that obsession shit.

"Hi, Rachel," he greeted brightly, but then he eyed Quinn suspiciously. "Quinn, what are you doing over here?"

"Mm, wouldn't you like to know," she answered elusively with a small smile of superiority. "Rae, we'll finish this later."

"Okay," the diva seemed disappointed, but she reached up to give the Cheerio a quick peck on the lips. "Thank you for everything."

"You don't have to thank me," Quinn's smile was on full force now. She didn't have the slightest idea why Rachel's kisses always sent her into a tizzy.

"Yes," Rachel whispered in a childish voice, completely forgetting about Finn. She was on her tiptoes so her forehead was pressed against Quinn's. "I do have to thank you because I'll do something to screw this up like I usually do and I just need you to know that I really appreciate this."

When she looked like she was about to continue, the blonde silenced her with a quick, tender kiss. "Seriously, Rae, stop it. You'll be fine."

The pixie nodded once before she let Quinn's words sink in and assure. "I'll be fine. You're right."

"I know," she winked, pulling away. "I'll let you two talk, I have to get to class early anyway. Bye, Finnessa." And then she was walking away, swaying her hips just so the flaps of her cheerleading skirt gave Rachel a little something to work with.

"What the hell was that about?" Finn spat, clearly not approving of the obvious closeness of his ex-girlfriends. I mean, they were supposed to be enemies. Quinn hated Rachel and Rachel didn't like Quinn. How was it that they were now kissing in the halls like… like… like a couple? This wasn't happening and it wasn't right. Quinn was straight and Rachel was straight. He knew that. They knew that. Hell, Puck knew that.

"I'm going through a tough time right now and Quinn's been helping me out." Such a simple, yet infuriating answer she had given him.

"What do you mean by helping you?" he demanded to know. Please, he couldn't bear it if they were sleeping together.

"I mean, she knows that I'm not… good, I suppose is the word I could use and she wants to be what I need. She is what I need. She talks to me and she reassures me and she holds me and she makes me feel like the world isn't shattering around my feet. I don't exactly know why it had to be Quinn. I would've expected Noah maybe or even Brittany, but nevertheless, I'm grateful. I don't exactly how Quinn feels about me but-"

"Are you sleeping with her?"

The question had caught Rachel off guard. This was the second time she had been asked if she had slept with someone and the tone of Finn's voice sent shivers of déjà vu down her spine. She noted that she would need to approach her mother about this eventually, but then she could probably tell her when she told all three of her parents her and Michael's big news. She had told Michael yesterday and he of course had been incredibly ecstatic. He was so enthusiastic and happy that a nurse had to come in to see if something had gone wrong. Rachel hadn't seen Michael like that in so long and it pleased her inside and out that she had been the one to cause that reaction. She savored it because she was certain he would be the only person that would react so joyously to her news.

"Rachel, I _said_ are you sleeping with her?" Finn hissed again, breaking the Jewish girl's train of thought.

"Why does that even matter? She makes me happy and I haven't been happy in a very long time, Finn. In fact, my therapist diagnosed me with depression. And not even a specific type of depression. Just "depression". Like, what does that even mean? If you have depression, shouldn't you have a specific type of depression? I asked her that and she said not necessarily. I think that's stupid." It was only when Rachel finished her depression rant that she realized that Noah had come up behind Finn and caught the tail end of it. "Noah, it's nice to see you."

"What's this about depression?" That was one thing she admired about Noah. He was a no nonsense person and that kind of reminded her of her mother, but she would never tell him that.

"Apparently, Rachel's depressed and instead of taking pills like everyone else, she decided to fuck Quinn to make her feel better, but she doesn't get that Quinn hates her," the awkwardly tall quarterback supplied, not even trying to hide the disgust in his tone.

"Finn Hudson!" the hummingbird shrieked and she didn't know what made her do it, but she punched him. Like, she seriously punched him… in his left peck. The action had surprised all three of them, but the small of the three quickly recovered. "That was private. And I'll have you know that I cannot take antidepressants because of my current state of being and also, I never said I was sleeping with Quinn so I would appreciate it if you would shut your big, dopey mouth about it. And she doesn't hate me." Good God, she needed people to know about her "state of being" soon so as not to risk people thinking she was bipolar on top of being depressed.

"Why are you depressed, Berry? You have friends now and everything and you like, don't get slushied anymore," Puck suddenly grinned at her, throwing one of his arms around her shoulder, momentarily ignoring his friend. "Come on, you can tell me anything. Us Jews gotta stuck together."

"Thank you, Noah, but not all of my problems are school related," she gave him a grateful smile before rounding on Finn once more. She hadn't gotten really angry until she saw the put off expression on his face. She felt irritation bubble inside her and rise to the surface out of almost nowhere. "As for you, _Hudson_, what Quinn and I do with each other is none of your concern and for your information, I did sleep with Quinn."

"That is so hot," Puck muttered, earning a withering glare from his fellow Jew.

"I'll tell Sam." That was a weak shot and he knew it.

"Go right ahead. You'll piss off Sam, he'll leave glee, which will piss everyone off, Quinn will see that you only told him to hurt me and then she'll be pissed at you, then Santana and Britt will be pissed at you and soon enough everyone will be pissed at you. Do you want that, Finn? Do you? It can be arranged," she was just in a ranting mood today. What is that, four already? And school hadn't even technically started yet.

"Whoa, Berry, calm down. Seriously, what's wrong? You sound like you did last year. Just tell me what's up." Puck was now on a mission to go out of his way to be nice to all of his fellow Jews and Rachel being one of the only other Jewish people worth talking to at the school was at the top of his list. And she didn't even make him want to light himself on fire anymore.

"A lot of things are wrong, Noah, but you can't fix them, so just leave me alone," she snapped with a bite she didn't even know she possessed. At Puck's crestfallen face, guilt poured into her bones. "Oh, Noah, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just under a lot of stress."

"And Quinn," Finn added.

Rachel's lip involuntarily curled back into an annoyed scowl. Her restraint only went so far these days. Last week she was emotional, this week it was obvious she was angry so people better watch what they say. "Fuck you, Phineas."

And with that, she was gone. She stalked down the hall to her first hour and slammed herself into her normal seat next to Quinn, behind Brittany, across from Santana. Rachel was so beyond over Finn Hudson and his childishness. He could go play in traffic for all she cared… No. That wasn't true, she did care, but she was honestly tired of all the crap he thought he could pull with her. She was not a toy. And he had no claim over her. She hadn't broken up with him and he needed to accept that and move on. It happened like three months ago. She hadn't meant to be so impatient with him, but what was she supposed to do? She was a hormonal, emotional teenage girl who was losing one of the most important people in her life. Add that on to her… other stuff and her patience easily wore thin.

"Rachel, are you okay?" What was with everyone intruding on her thoughts this morning? Didn't she have any time to think?

"No, Britt, I'm not." And she hadn't meant to be so curt about it, she honestly hadn't. Before Santana could threaten her or settle her with a glare, she apologized. "Forgive me, Brittany. I'm not in the best mood today."

"That's for damn sure and Berry, if you snap at my girl again, I'll-" Santana was cut off by ice cold words.

"Or what, Santana? You won't do anything to her. She apologized and she meant, just leave it alone."

Rachel was pleasantly shocked that Quinn felt the need to protect her. A warm feeling came over her and settled all over her body. She suddenly got the urge to show the blonde how grateful she was in kisses, but thought better of it and just beamed a smile at her which was returned.

"Oh, my God, Q, does Rachel give you a wettie? Is that why you wouldn't hand out on Saturday? Is that why you kept talking about her yesterday?" Leave it to Brittany to phrase things like that.

"Britt, if you're asking if Quinn and I are sexually involved then the answer to your question is yes, I suppose." Rachel shook her head as if trying to rid her thoughts of something. She felt the room tilt and fought to stay upright. She blinked numerous times before finally convincing herself that she was in fact dizzy. _Great._

"Does this mean I can't give you sweet lady kisses anymore?" the dim blonde inquired to which she only got a nod.

"Hello, beautiful. I couldn't help but overhear that you and Quinn Fabray are doing the horizontal tango between the sheets. Care to comment?" Of course Jacob Ben _Fucking_ Israel would choose that moment to intervene in their conversation. She honest to God felt like shooting him in the face. She didn't know what it was, but she was just so pissed off today.

"Go away, Jacob," she ground out, not lifting her head from its spot on her desk. Not today of all days. Just. Not. Today.

"But wouldn't you much rather me get the story straight from the force rather than have to scope out the rumors?" Jacob asked, leaning closer to Rachel which was when Quinn decided to say something.

"Look, Jewfrow, you have five seconds-"

"No, Jacob, you have three seconds. If you don't get the _fuck_ out of my face, I will rearrange it with my fist, now. _Go!"_ She all but roared at him and he scampered away with his tail between his legs. She swelled with proud, knowing that she'd defended herself, but she deflated a little. She needed to stop using that f-word. She didn't know if she liked it coming out of her mouth or not. But on the plus side, Jacob hadn't called her bluff. She was very opposed to violence when it came to solving problems and technically, punching Finn didn't solve any problems, it just got his attention.

"Damn, Berry, that was a little harsh. I know he's annoying and, but it's still early…" Santana trailed off when she didn't seem to get a response out of the little diva.

"Precisely why I had to remove Jacob from the scene. It is way too early to deal with him and I don't have any type of patience today. Finn probably hates me even more now."

Instantly Quinn's hands were wrapped around hers. "Why? What happened? What did he say to you?"

"As you know he was witness to our little display and just demanded to know if I was sleeping with you. When I didn't tell him, he told Noah that I was using my depression as an excuse to sleep with you. Just to make me feel better and that you really hated me and usually, I would've gone unaffected, but _God_, I wanted to slam his face into my lock that I was so angry. I've never been so angry in my entire life. So then I told that we had in fact slept together and he threatened to tell Sam and told him everyone would hate him if he did that and then I cursed at him and walked away. There were words between Noah and me throughout that, but it's not all that important." Longest rant so far. Rant #5, baby. Respect that shit.

"Cannot believe I just sat through one of Berry's power rants without wanting to gnaw my own ears off. I'm so not going to hell," Santana would be the one to point something like that out. Honestly, couldn't she just shut up?

"Shut up, Santana," Rachel groaned, willing the sudden ringing in her ears to cease. Oh, sweet baby Jesus, she was going to murder someone today if she didn't leave soon. She was sure of it.

"Do you want to leave, Baby?" Quinn queried, her breath tickling the skin on the back of Rachel's neck. She had moved so she was kneeling beside the tiny girl. "Tell me what you need."

The singer smiled and she would swear it was her best smile of the week. "I just need you."

* * *

Rachel hated lying. She hated lying to people in general, but more than anything, she hated lying to people she cared about. She found it impossible to lie to people that knew he very well, like her parents. That included Shelby. The woman had only known Rachel for five months and she knew her gold star loving daughter as if she'd spent that last sixteen years raising her. It was unnerving that he mother could do that. Just waltz in and know how to do motherly stuff. Granted the coach of Vocal Adrenaline had been a stuttering mess when she'd called Rachel toward the end of last year, begging for forgiveness. Once the diva allowed her mother back into her life, she was happy, relieved, confused, and excited all at the same time. She could momentarily forget that her best friend was dying.

"I have to tell you something," Rachel mumbled slowly, not sure if she wanted to continue. She was currently sitting next to Michael's hospital bed in one of those annoyingly uncomfortable hospital chairs, wringing her small, tan hands in her lap. A knot was twisting painfully in her stomach and she willed it to go away. She needed it to go away. She also needed Quinn.

"Is it about…?" Michael didn't finish his sentence, unless someone was listening outside the door. He'd always been pretty paranoid.

"No. No, everything's fine with that. It's something else," she paused to collect herself. She could do this. She had nothing to be ashamed of and she had nothing to apologize for. She had someone that could be here for her when Michael was gone. This was good. She was getting better. He would be happy about this. The knot twisted again and she was brought back to reality. He would hate her. "I'm with someone… sort of. We aren't officially in a romantic relationship, but it's pretty much like it."

Michael didn't speak for a long while after that. They were both still for what could've been two minutes or two hours. "Is it Finn?"

"What?" It had taken the diminutive teen a second to realize what Michael was referring to. "No, it's not Finn. Finn and I haven't spoken in a week. I don't think we'll speak much for a while. He didn't take the news well that I was with someone else."

Michael nodded slowly. "Does he know about me?"

"Who, Finn? No, I haven't told anyone, besi-"

"No, not Finn. This other boy you're with now. Have you told him about me?" Rachel swallowed. This would be that hard part. How was she was supposed to tell him it was a girl? And not just any girl, but one of the girls that had tortured her for years. This couldn't end well.

"It's not a guy. It's… it's Quinn. Quinn Fabray."

Silence.

Silence.

_Silen-_

"Oh." That "oh" was shattering the brunette's already broken heart. She couldn't take this much longer.

"Do you hate me?" It was a simple question. She needed an answer.

"Are you happy?" he wondered, locking gazes with her. It was one of the easiest ways to tell her emotions. Her eyes were so fantastically expressive. "With her? Does Quinn make you happy?"

"Yes. I don't think she knows it and I probably won't tell her, but I'm happy when I'm with her. It's scary, but I think I like it."

"Good. I'm glad. I know you've been depressed, Rach."

Rachel shrugged. "Yeah, well…"

The conversation lagged for a little bit. She hated that they were like this because of her. They were never like this. Whatever this was, it needed to stop.

"Evan's gone."

Rachel's head snapped up to meet his gray eyed gaze once again. "What?"

Michael sighed. He hadn't wanted to tell her until later, but he didn't know when later was for him and she had just dropped this on him. He didn't know what else to say. "Evan, he went back to Utah. He said he couldn't all this and then he left."

"He left. How could just leave? How could leave knowing that I… that we…?" Leroy, Hiram, and Shelby's daughter shook her head, choosing not to even finish. She honestly didn't even care. Evan wasn't ever one of her favorite people in the world, so having him out of the picture wasn't so bad. What really got her was that he would leave his only family in the entire world on his deathbed. How does shit like that?

"I don't know, Rach." He honestly didn't. He and his brother were never close, but they were all each other had.

"I'm going to tell them… My parents, I mean. I'm going to tell them everything. They deserve to know and I hate lying to them." She had made her mind up. There was no going back from it now.

"Okay, Rachel, when do you wanna do it?"

"I'd prefer to do it alone, if you don't mind. It will be easier that way." Then she turned and left. She couldn't stay in the hospital for a second longer. The weight of everything they had discussed and so much more was just crashing down on her and what could she do about it? Nothing. Absolutely nothing because she had responsibilities. She had responsibilities that she chose to take on. Her daughters meant the world to her, but she needed release. She needed Quinn.

* * *

**AN: So, Michael was in that chapter. You don't really see much of his personality because of the angst in this chapter and I can't really promise that you see more of him, but you might. And you saw a little bit of pissed off Rachel in there. **

**I sincerely hope you enjoyed it.**

**~Elphaba Snow Thropp**


	6. Conversations

**AN: So, here's the next chapter. Shelby tries to approach Rachel about what happened and Quinn and Rachel talk about some more things like Sam. Alba will be in this chapter as well and next chapter things are revealed. :)**

* * *

"I told Michael."

Rachel had to cringe at how abrupt and harsh she sounded when relaying this back to Quinn. The week had been extremely stressful. She was still getting used to seeing Michael in the hospital, mostly because one wasn't always necessary. His life seemed to be fairly normal, except the fact that he was dying. She was still having trouble wrapping her head around that whole concept. Her dads were noticing the changes in her behavior. She was actually starting to eat and interact with them now. With the depression, this was a rarity, but now with Quinn, it seemed doable. Her mother kept trying to talk to her, but she didn't know if she could even handle all that.

Quinn glanced up from tracing her hazel gaze along Rachel's bare back. "You did? How did he take it?"

The munchkin blew out a sigh, dropping her forehead down on Quinn's pillow. "He was glad it wasn't Finn and he was fine with it being you as long as I'm happy."

The blonde hesitated before pressing on. "Are you? … Are you happy… with me?"

Rachel turned her head to make eye contact. She had to get Quinn to understand this. It was an extremely delicate situation she was in and she had to convey her meaning without giving too much away. "I was diagnosed with depression three months ago after Michael shared his news. At the time, I was borderline suicidal. I thought if Michael isn't here, why would I be? Why should I be? He's been my inspiration for everything. I know that sounds completely cliché, but I didn't know how to handle it. But now that I have you, I'm not afraid to live without him. I'm not entirely happy, I'm just… better. You make me better."

Quinn nodded. She could understand that. She had been feeling things similar to that when she gave up Beth. She knew what it felt like to lose someone so incredibly close to you. The difference was that Quinn could see Beth, Rachel would never be able to see Michael again once he was gone. The idea of Rachel wanting to die made her want to cry. The little one had so much going for her; she couldn't give that up for anything. Quinn was beyond relieved to know her presence had ceased Rachel's self destructive thoughts.

"Are you going to tell your parents?" She asked before she realized she'd been dying to know.

The diva tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "I'll have to eventually. It would be great if I could just close out the rest of the world and stay with you like this for a while." She was quiet then. "Michael's supposed to die at the end of this month."

Quinn didn't know what to say to that. She was literally at a loss for words. How was she supposed to respond to that? How would anyone respond to that? She figured if she didn't say anything that Rachel would take her silence as a moment of silence for Michael.

"It's okay, Quinn. You don't have to say anything. I just haven't told anyone and I wanted to tell you because you're…" Rachel trailed off, furrowing her eyebrows cutely. "What are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"In terms of our relationship with each other. What are you to me? You're obviously not my girlfriend because you're still with Sam, but you're sleeping with me and you took me on what I considered a date tonight and you hold me when I cry and you've just been very good to me these past couple of weeks. I-"

"I broke up with Sam."

Rachel went bug eyed at those news. "What? You- why did you do that?"

Quinn shrugged. "I got tired of cheating on him; he doesn't deserve that. But the main reason was because I know you don't like me being with him."

"I never said-"

The cheerleader rolled her eyes and moved up the diva's body so that she was lying flat on top of her with her head nuzzled in a tan neck. "You didn't have to say anything, Rae. I could tell by the way you never looked at me during glee. You're a great actress, Rae, but I've known you since kindergarten."

Rachel scrunched up her face in what Quinn thought was the most adorable expression ever. "I didn't like kindergarten. Ms. Dansby was mean to me."

Quinn giggled and pressed a kiss to the underside of Rachel's earlobe, gaining a shiver and a moan in the process. She did it a few more times before moving to pepper kisses across the girl's chest. Rachel arched off the bed with a pleading whimper when the kisses came to an end and hot tuffs of breath were being blown against the peak of her left breast. She loved and hated when Quinn did that. The fact that the blonde was able to get her body to break out in goose bumps, heat up absolutely everywhere and surround her completely without even knowing it made the brunette want to cry. It was all so bizarre and fantastical. She realized at that very moment the she had fallen in love with Quinn Fabray… in a month. If that's not enough, she had the sinking feeling that she would somehow screw this up.

That thought made Rachel freeze. Her body contracted into itself and she wiggled out from under Quinn to curl up in a ball. She hugged her knees to her chest and blinked away her tears. They would do no good, besides she was so sick of crying all the time. It was so old.

"Rae, sweetie, what's wrong?" The Cheerio pulled Rachel into her lap and rocked her back and forth, while stroking dark curls that were beginning to sweat out. "Talk to me."

"Why now, Quinn? Why do you care what I do, now? If you hadn't been in the choir room that day, you wouldn't have said anything to me about all of this. Why do you care now? You've never cared before. Why now?"

"That's not true. I would've noticed because Brittany wouldn't stop talking about how sad you've seemed to her. She doesn't like it when you're sad and at first, this was just to make her happy, but then I don't know what happened. I just started paying attention to you for once and noticed all these things about you. Like when you laugh your eyes light up and the rest of your body just seems to lift and when you're confused, you narrow your eyes and do that thing with your eyebrows and when you're thinking, you tilt your head to the left every single time and you bite your lip. I guess I saw those things before, but they didn't seem to register. I really starting seeing them for real and you became endearing to me. You still are."

Rachel sat up, feeling her body flutter at the words. "I didn't know that. Any of that, actually. It amazes me that you took note of things about me that I haven't before. This is a little unsettling considering I take pride in knowing myself very well. I'll have to start paying closer attention from now on."

Quinn chuckled. "No, Rae, you don't need to do anything. You just be you and that's all I need. Everything's thrown off when you're not you."

The singer smirked. "How long did it take you to admit all that to yourself?"

"Since kindergarten," she grinned. "Now, how about we get back to what we were doing before?"

Rachel giggled and bit her lip. "You're not tired?"

"Nope. You?"

"I have impressive stamina if you hadn't already noticed."

* * *

"Rachel, can we please talk about this?" Shelby was inquiring when Rachel got home that evening. This had become a routine as of late. Shelby would wait in the kitchen for Rachel to come home every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening to ask her about the sex thing.

"I'm not feeling well, Mom. Can we talk later?" And Rachel would avoid that conversation at all costs.

Shelby was getting fed up with this forestalling shit. They were going to talk about this whether her daughter liked it or not. "No, you know what; it's a little too late for it to wait until later. We're going to talk now. Sit down."

Rachel was past the point of wanting to go to her room to sleep. She would friggin' get on the island in this kitchen and take her nap there. But no matter how tired she was, she knew when it was time to talk with her mother. And now, it was time. She pulled out a stool from under the counter and sat across from Shelby. "Fine. What is it?"

"Were you ever gonna tell me you were sleeping with someone?" Rachel now knew where she got her straightforward nature from.

"I was discussing that matter with said someone before I arrived home. I told them that I would tell my parents eventually, but then I averted the conversation to Michael's condition," Rachel explained, wanting to be done with this conversation already.

Shelby nodded. "So, you told them about Michael? They must be important to you then."

The vertically challenged girl considered this for several moments. "I'm in love with them."

Her mother's mouth made a perfect O shape in response to those words. Love? How did Rachel know she was in love with someone at sixteen and Shelby was still having trouble admitting her feelings for Will at… her age? This was truly baffling. "Love? Are you sure? You're sixteen."

"Age is a state of mind and that's it. I'm acutely aware of my feelings at all times so I'm able to find what caused them and figure out if and when I should do something about them and if so, what I should do about them. Also, so I can study my reactions to things in case I need to simulate those emotions on stage some day. It's practical. I know I am in love with them, unfortunately. It's a fact and I've yet to find out what to do with it." Rachel wondered how she was able to talk in paragraphs when she was dirt tired. She was truly a fascinating case.

"Have you told this person?"

The small fry shook her head. "No. That would do no good. I would like to make the best of this relationship before it comes to an inevitable end. If I were to reveal my feelings to this person, they would shut me out completely. I'd rather they hate me for my decisions rather than for my feelings. It hurts less."

"How do you know it's going to end?"

She barked a hollow laugh. "Just trust me. It will."

"Is that all you do with this person? Just have sex?" Shelby internally shuddered. It sometimes felt like that's all she and Will did. They hadn't been out together in months. They needed to go on a date soon. Real soon.

"I thought that's all it was, until they asked me to a movie today. I was going to say no because of Olive and Luce, but as I told you I wanna get as much out of this union as possible before it diminishes. I thought it couldn't hurt, come to find out I've fallen in love. How ironic is that?"

"Did this person take your virginity? Because it would make sense that you think you have feelings of love for them, but that's not usually-" Shelby was cut off.

"No. They didn't take my virginity. I don't think I would've let that happen with this person. That would just be too much. No, no, Michael took my virginity. It was promised to him before I even knew what my virginity was. For a while I thought that was one promise I'd be breaking at some point, but he came back and everything _should've_ fallen into place."

"Okay, I think that's enough for today, but just one last question. Was there in between Michael and this person you're in love with?" She braced herself for the worst.

"No. There wasn't. I'm glad we had this talk. It was productive. I'm gonna go check on the girls and then take a nap." Rachel kissed her mother on the cheek before exiting the kitchen only to have her presence replaced by Will. "Schuester," she greeted.

"Rachel," he nodded amicably, walking around the island to circle Shelby's waist with his arms. He placed a kiss on the back of her neck and was pleased by the soft sigh that she emitted. "I missed you."

She chuckled, but hearing him say that made her body warm. She leaned her elbows on the counter of the island so her behind was firmly pressed against his groin. "I was only in here for like ten minutes."

"That's ten minutes too long," he confessed, leaning forward as well so his front was against her back. He had to shift his stance because her laugh always did things to his body.

Basking in the not only comforting but welcoming silence that had enveloped the couple for a few long minutes, Shelby chose to speak. Something Rachel said had really struck a chord in her and now that she'd come to her own realization, she had to get this out now. "Hey, Will, can I tell you something?"

"Sure, babe."

She abruptly vacillated. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. No, it wasn't. She could wait until later. He didn't necessarily have to know at that very second. "I'm glad you're here." Fuck, she was anxiety issues when it came to human emotions.

Will laughed against the side of her neck causing her to squirm slightly. "I'm glad I'm here, too, Shelby."

* * *

"Hello, Rachel," Alba (who didn't hide her skin at school anymore) greeted, coming up next to Rachel on a Wednesday on the way to glee the next week. The green girl didn't talk much to anyone except Rachel and Brittany (only because Brittany refused to believe that Alba wasn't the spawn of a secret black flower and a bumblebee due to her verdigris and impossibly long hair) and sometimes Puck. But who didn't talk to Puck? And he mostly only talked to her because she called him Rockstar and he wanted to know why.

"Hi, Alba," Rachel let herself smile slightly. She hadn't been in a smiling mood lately. Not with Michael's death date approaching. That thought only furthered her darkening mood.

"Your heart's hurting, isn't it?"

At the odd, Brittany-like question, the puny junior sputtered. "What are you talking about?"

"Your moods have been a bit on the swingy side lately, but mostly you just seem indisputably melancholy. Is there someone you'd like to discuss?" The strange cryptic, yet creepy knowingly way Alba said 'someone' unsettled Rachel. Did she know about Quinn? The singer for the most part kept her relationship with Quinn under wraps, so as not to incite a riot in glee club, so that couldn't be it. Did she know about Michael? No, that wasn't possible… was it?

"What are you talking about?" The jarred chipmunk-like girl repeated, through clenched teeth. Her face was impassive, or so she tried to tell herself.

Alba only allowed a sliver of a smirk to appear on her dark purple lips. "Come on, Rachel. Glee's about to start."

This only furthered Rachel's confusion. She was being pulled into the choir room by the black haired girl a full ten minutes before glee even started. And to add to her confusion, every single last person in glee club was there, sitting in their usual seats, except Marie and Leo. They couldn't handle being ridiculed. They weren't needed though, so none of the gleeks were bothered by their choice. Alba never had a problem with the jocks. Apparently on the first day, Karofsky tried to through a slushy on her because she wore all black, but she had done something (no one knew what) that caused him and every other jock (Cheerios included) to keep their distances.

"Hey, Berry- uh, Rachel, are you coming to Alba's party this weekend?" Puck asked her when she took her seat in between Brittany and Quinn. He was sitting next to Mike behind them.

The addressed girl glanced at Alba who was combing her fingers through her curls. "I wasn't aware she had planned a gathering."

Smiling ruefully, the green girl patted Puck's head, clearly amused by something. "That's because Rockstar failed to tell you this morning when I asked him to. If I had known you didn't know, I would've told you."

"Oh. Well, who's all going?" she queried, wanting to prepare for the worst. She really was her mother's child.

"Seeing as how I don't like to really interact with people, resulting in a very low friend count, I only invited the glee club. I briefly considered inviting some of the people from Carmel, but decided against it."

"Why?" Brittany asked, after she'd been silently listening to the exchange.

"All of the people I know from there are in Vocal Adrenaline and I didn't think it wise to start a redundant rivalry this early in the year. And I know for a fact that Shelby would've forbid them from coming," Alba explicated easily, smoothing out the nonexistent creases in her black dress.

"How do you know that?" Rachel questioned.

"She told me. She's an old friend. We mince words occasionally. Nothing big."

"How did I not know about this?" The hummingbird asked her and then turned to Puck. "How did I not know about this?"

Puck just shrugged. "What do you mean old friends? You're not old enough to have old friends."

"She used to babysit me when my family moved from Kentucky to New York. She took me to all her auditions while she was there. At the tender age of two, she was my first musical experience. She used to sing me to sleep during naptimes and I would silently promise not to throw my food at her. Well, on her clothes anyway. My dad died before I was born, so she was kinda like a second mum." Alba paused to think about that statement before grinning. "Haha, I had two mums, score. That's as cool as having two dads. Anyway, she was gone after my third birthday. Nothing too exciting. When my mum was pregnant with my sister, she told me that her belly used to be that big once, too. It didn't occur to me until I met you, Rachel that she had been referring to a pregnancy."

"Wow. Why did my mom not tell me about you? You would think it would be hard to forget meeting a green person, let alone taking care of one for a year." Rachel mentally slumped. Her mother had had her and gave her to her dads, so she could go back to New York and take care of someone else's kid. She knew Shelby was trying her best to make up for all the years she missed and she didn't exactly know what she was doing, but damn, that hurt don't heal.

"Perhaps she didn't find it compulsory, especially seeing as how there was no way we'd ever meet again," the silver eyed girl said.

"Except you did," Puck interceded. "Hey, why _did_ you move here?"

"That'll all be explained on Saturday when you meet my family. They'll only stay long enough for brief introductions and then they're off to my mother's apartment because she's got this weird thing about houses…" Alba's eyes glazed over for a second before she collected herself. "Wow, I totally just heard my mother's voice saying "I have my reasons. Everyone's entitled to them." That is scary."

"I know," Brittany nodded. "Sometimes I quack in my sleep."

Quinn stared at her. "Why do you know that?"

"I recorded the sounds in my room at night, so I could hear if my cat was getting into my diary."

Oh, Brittany.

* * *

"Rachel, you've barely talked to us all evening. What's going on? Are you not taking your pills?" Rachel's borderline anal retentive, but still friendly father, Hiram asked her as they sat down to watch a movie.

The diva in question had just returned from tucking her daughters into bed. "You'll find out soon enough. And no, I'm not taking those stupid pills. I don't need pills to be happy. God, why am not allowed to just be depressed for a while? Isn't that too much to ask for? Why does everyone think I need to "get better"? That's all that stupid therapist says. "Rachel you're getting better. I'm glad the pills are helping." Gah. The pills don't make me better and neither does seeing her. What the hell do those pills do anyway? They're _pills._ They can't stop any depressing thoughts if the thought's strong enough. Antidepressants are stupid. I threw them out."

Both men raised their eyebrows at the unexpected outburst, but only Leroy, the more laid back, easy going of the two decided to speak. "Okay, Rach, we're sorry we upset you. We just miss you is all."

The youngest Berry sighed and wiped at her eyes furiously. "I know and I sincerely apologize for my behavior. I'm just so whacked out, right now. I'm trying so hard to be normal, well as normal as I was before Michael's condition was made known to me, but I'm lost, Daddy. I don't know what I'm supposed to do or how I'm supposed to be or what I'm supposed to feel. Everything is just so out of my range and it feels like I'm floating and not in the good way."

Leroy released a breath, lowering his whimpering daughter into his lap. "I'm going to tell you now, Rach. I don't know half of what you're going through. So I can't give you any type of sage advice like usual, but I can tell you that you're not supposed to be anyone, but you."

"But I don't know who I am, anymore."

"Well, that my dear, is entirely up to you to figure out. Rach, you've known who you were since you were five. I know this is hard, but your dad and I don't want this to derail you to the point that you don't get to live out your dreams. You just need time to think. And talk to your mom. She might be new at this, but she's been there, Rach. She knows what it's like to lose something precious and then try to live out your dreams."

Rachel nodded. "Okay. I'll talk to her."

But she wouldn't do so immediately.

* * *

**AN: So, there was that chapter. We had some Faberry and some Shell and a little bit of Alba/Puck action there. Haha, well, anyway, I hope you enjoyed.**

**~Elphaba Snow Thropp**


	7. Expecting

**AN: I am extremely upset that I only got one review for the last chapter and I deeply considered not finishing this story, but I decided not to let anyone stand in my way. I've had this idea in my head for a while now and nobody in all of Oz, no Wizard that there is or was, is ever gonna bring me down, to put it in Elphaba's terms.**

* * *

Rachel needed Quinn. She needed Quinn and she also needed oxygen. She needed oxygen in order to survive and she needed Quinn or she might be tempted to get in her car and just drive without stopping or at least until she had to pee. She didn't know how to handle things right now so she briefly wondered what would've happened if Puck or someone else came to her aid before Quinn. She didn't like entertaining that thought much. It made her chest uncomfortably tight to think she was vulnerable enough to sleep with just anyone. She wasn't that easy. She wasn't.

Quinn needed Rachel. She needed Rachel the same way she needed to dream. She needed to dream because if she didn't she was sure she would be completely and utterly lost in every aspect of the word. And she needed Rachel because there was a large part of her that was still childlike; she needed something to hold onto, lest she risk being lost in the large sea that was the world. That's why she stayed with Finn for as long as she did and it was also the reason she was with Sam for their short relationship. For a long time she hated this about herself, until she found Rachel. She was so hard to hold onto and seeing as how Quinn loved challenges, she couldn't find it in herself to let the girl go.

The two of them had expressed their need for each other, just not to the intense extent it went to. Rachel knew Quinn was with her and Quinn knew Rachel needed her. They knew this and were content. That's not to say that neither of them thought about putting a label on their relationship because they did, but they knew they weren't ready for it just yet. They kept their relationship to themselves; no one knew, except Santana and Brittany. Alba might've known as well, but Alba seemed to know everything anyway, so they weren't too worried about her. During glee club, they would sit as close as possible, but no one took notice. No one said anything, much to their relief and annoyance. Quinn was relieved, Rachel was annoyed. They never noticed her changes.

Up until recently the diva had been relieved about the fact, but now she was border line pissed off about it. How could they not see her? How could they not see how she was hurting? How could they not see how she was growing? Of course they wouldn't notice. They didn't care, but unfortunately enough, her parents did. She knew they noticed little things, but it was time to tell them about the big thing. To say she was nervous would be the understatement of the millennium. She's never had to do this; give her parents bad news. Well, not as bad as it was disappointing. She was dreading seeing the looks of disappointment she knew would be thrown her way. It wasn't fair. She'd only been trying to help.

Well, all her help did was land her in this sticky situation. She was pacing in her living room, waiting for her fathers and mother to finish their discussion before coming in so she could talk to them. She hadn't rehearsed what she wished to say. She figured she wouldn't need to; she didn't want to. She didn't even make a power point for this; she had trouble restraining herself when that had crossed her mind. Sighing, she sat down, trying to calm her anxiety before she had a panic attack. That would not be good for her; she had her two sleeping daughters upstairs to take care of. However, as soon as her bottom hit the chair she sat down on she was back up and walking back and forth, giving herself something to do. She had an unnatural fear of spontaneous combustion and every time she paced, the phenomenon popped in her mind, causing her to pace faster.

"Rachel?" The sound of her dad's voice made her jump in surprise, mid-pace. All three of her parents were filing into the room. She needed Quinn.

"Yes. Hi, sit down, just there on that sofa. Yes. Thank you," she took a deep breath and waited for them to sit down.

"Rach, what's all this about?" Leroy wondered, looking at his daughter in concern. She only paced when she was nervous and she was never nervous.

This was not how she'd been expecting to tell them. "I've had sex," she all but blurted and then appeared to be startled by the confession. That wasn't how it was supposed to come out. "47 times." God, Berry, way to dig yourself an early grave, she thought as she fell back in her chair in exasperation. Sweet Lord, she was referring to herself as Berry now, too.

"47 times, Rachel?" Shelby almost shouted with wide eyes. "If I had known- wait, you kept count?"

"You knew?" Leroy questioned, looking at her with equally wide eyes.

"Yes, I kept count. And Daddy, it's not her fault. Do not blame this on her. She didn't know until a few days ago. Besides, most of the times I had sex was during the week anyway." Oh, hell, Ber-Rachel, shoot yourself now, why don't you? She cringed at that, but saw her mother relax a bit. "That wasn't supposed to come out."

"I thought you were waiting until you were 25," Hiram inquired finally after having been silent the whole time.

The pixie of a teenager let out a bitter bark of laughter, standing up. "Yeah, I thought so, too. My priorities greatly shifted. I hadn't planned it the first time, although I can truthfully say I knew it was going to happen at the time."

"It was a least with the same person every single time, right?" Shelby asked, tentatively not sure if she really wanted to hear the answer.

Closing her eyes, she bit her lip and took a deep breath. She hadn't been anticipating that question, but she wasn't one to lie. "No. It wasn't. Four of the times were with one person and the other forty three times was with someone else. Please, don't think I'm a slut or a whore because I'm not. I'm really not."

"We know that, Rach, but why are telling us this?" Hiram wanted to know, rubbing his forehead.

Her eyebrows creased and she curled her toes against the carpet, seemingly deep in thought. "I'm seven and a half weeks pregnant."

There was silence. It was eerie and later Rachel would swear she could hear crickets. She stared at her parents for any type of response, but none of them budged. A tightening in her stomach began and she could tell a stress knot was forming just above where her unborn child was growing. The tension in the room was thick and she could it feel it getting thicker with each passing second. She then suddenly felt the urge to throw something on floor if only to hear something other than that irritating, never ending beeping sound that comes with silence. The one that you hear, but you don't know if everyone else can hear it until someone else breaks the silence because they've had enough of it, too.

Apparently Shelby had enough because she released a loud sigh that was remarkably similar to a whimper. "Who's the father?"

"Michael," Rachel answered immediately and she saw her father's shoulders slump in visible relief. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We just worried it was Finn or Noah Puckerman," Leroy spoke up because he knew his husband wasn't going to.

The singer huffed and folded her arms over her chest. "I'm not long associated with Finn Hudson outside of glee and Noah… while I wouldn't mind carrying his Jewish children, we are better off as friends. He and I are physically attracted to each other, but we're just Jew buddies. You won't ever have to worry about me bearing his children. I can promise you that much."

"Rachel, I talked to you about sex before I was even comfortable addressing that issue with you," Shelby said, fighting back a shudder upon remembering that painfully uncomfortable summer night. Her daughter had caught her and Will in a… compromising situation. Needless to say, they were both rightfully embarrassed. "Didn't you use protection?"

"No," she whined. That hadn't been on her mind that particular moment. "I hadn't thought about it. I was afraid and I was hurting and God, I was so angry at everything for like…" she paused to collect her thoughts. "It was after the first time Michael had to be taken to the hospital. It had just been too much, to see him hooked up to all those machines. It just made everything so real and so inevitable. I was so numb from not wanting to deal with it, but seeing him like that… I wanted to feel something other than pain and sorrow. We were in my room the afternoon after he was released and I just broke down. I couldn't hold it in any longer. He kissed me and everything just escalated from there. I just wanted to feel something. The other three times were oddly spaced out, but I can tell you, nothing ever happened after he was admitted to the hospital permanently last month." A great wave of grief came over her and only then was she alerted to the tears falling down her cheeks.

"Are you sure he's the father?" Hiram questioned and for the second time that night the youngest Berry was taken aback. "When did you start sleeping with this other boy? If you were sleeping with them both at the same time, the other boy could be the father. Who is the other boy anyway?"

Rachel gaped at her dad. Had he really just asked her all that? Did he really think she was _that _irresponsible? Sure, she was pregnant, but she wasn't some stupid harlot. Though she knew her father didn't mean to be accusing, she couldn't help but feel like she'd just been slapped in the face. "I can't believe you just asked me that," she whispered brokenly. "I am not so whorish that I would sleep with two people at the same time. I'm not desperate. I am more than positive that Michael is the father. He made sure of it."

Leroy mimicked his daughter's earlier expression on shock. "_What_? He got you pregnant on purpose and you let him?"

"Of course I let him." Wow, she sounded stupid. Explanations are a God sent. "You know he and his brother are the last of their family line. Evan's sterile, but Michael's not. The plan had been to put his sperm on ice and then wait until I was older and well into my career before I was impregnated. We went to a sperm bank, but we found out that his sperm only stayed on ice for three days before it went sterile. He and Evan were devastated at the discovery and he almost fell apart when I told him I wasn't pregnant after our first two times. I couldn't just let them die without… I had to do something. We had more unprotected sex and when I found out I was pregnant, we planned to give the baby to Evan so he could raise it because he seemed to want it more than me at the time, but two weeks ago, he left. He went back to Utah and now I have to keep it, not saying that I don't want to. But I already have two kids. I can't… I'm so overwhelmed as it is. I never thought this would happen to me. I was only trying to help."

Seeing her daughter's distress broke Shelby's heart to pieces and without thinking about it, she went over to embrace her. "Shh, Baby, you're okay."

Rachel only cried harder, her breaths coming shorter. "I'm so… s-s-sorry… I-I didn't… I didn't tell y-you… I was… s-scared… baby… depressed… need Qu-Qu-"

"Rachel, sweetie, you have to calm down. You're choking on your words," she said soothingly, bringing her to sit in between her and Leroy who moved to make room.

The girl sober up a little. "I'm so sorry. I just wanted to keep a piece of him with me. I thought the sex would be enough, but then he wanted a baby and I couldn't say no. He would hate me and I couldn't handle that. He's my best friend and it was his dying wish. I couldn't have said no. You understand, right? Please, don't hate me."

"Rach, we could never hate you and we understand, but," Leroy sighed, rubbing his hands together. They were a bit too young to be grandfathers already. "This was a very big decision. You should've told us about it before you went through with it."

"I wanted to, but I was afraid you'd say no. I mean, I almost said no. I was going to suggest using a different surrogate, but they didn't want to go through all that. They trust me and they knew I wouldn't go back on my word. I'm so sorry. I know you have every right to be angry at me for this, but I couldn't say no." Her tears were slowing and she regained control of her breathing. She should've known this would be emotionally draining. She could just imagine telling Quinn and how that would go. Then again, at least Quinn wouldn't judge her as harshly as the whole glee club and at least she wouldn't have to tell Schuester.

"Do you plan on keeping the baby?" Hiram interrogated in a strained tone. He didn't like this at all. He didn't think his baby girl could get into this type of trouble.

"Of course. It's my responsibility. I never really wanted Evan to raise it anyway, but I didn't have a say in it. I didn't want a say in it," she exemplified, wiping down her cheeks. She could feel the disappointment rolling off of her dad in waves and shrunk back into her mother's arms.

"Rach, are you sure this is what you want? Are you sure you want to keep it?" Shelby asked. She had to know this was what her daughter wanted. She'd been through this before and she didn't want her to have any regrets.

"Yes. I'm positive," she nodded her head. She couldn't abandon her child because it was too hard. She couldn't do that. She had the resources, she had the experience; all she didn't have was the patience and the pain tolerance. Emotional pain, sure, but she and her mother were not good with handling physical pain. "Can I go to bed now? I'm very tired."

At her parents' collective nod, she shuffled out of the room and raced up the stairs to her room, but then she was reminded of something and walked out to the top of the stairs. "I have a doctor's appointment on Saturday before Alba's get together… if I'm still able to go."

Before she could hear a response, she went back into her room and closed the door. She put her favorite Barbra Streisand CD on low and considered things.

* * *

It was Saturday afternoon. Most of the members of the New Directions glee club were standing outside of Annarose Allen's home that was conveniently place in the middle of nowhere. They hadn't a clue what they were waiting for; perhaps for her to open the door and invite them in or maybe for their remaining member to show up and knock on the door because none of them would. The house they were standing in front of was huge to say the least, but it resembled a Civil War type house, except way creepier. They all glanced around. Where was Berry?

As if on cue, the tiny girl pushed through her club members and knocked on the door. "Honestly, you all are ridiculous. Was that really all that hard to do?"

"Shut up, Berry. All you did was knock on a door," Santana rolled her eyes, earning a small shove from Quinn.

"It was more than you did," Rachel tossed over her shoulder as the door opened to reveal a six and a half foot, muscular man with a jovial smile on his face. He was an imposing figure, but the smile counteracted it. His short, curly brown hair was mussed and he was shirtless, showing off his tight abs and well developed chest and arm muscles. His pale complexion and pale, almost teal colored eyes made him a sight for sore eyes.

"Hi, you all must be the glee club. I'm David, why don't you come on in," he stepped aside and they all scurried inside, but not before Santana made a crude comment about his body and Kurt licked his lips. "Follow me." He led them out of the foyer and straight to the back of the back of the house into the kitchen, and then he turned left and opened the door to reveal an entire entertainment set. There was a large, flat screen television, and around it was a DVD player, a PS3, a Wii, and an Xbox 360. There were two large sofas and a recliner; all black and the floor was covered in black carpet.

"I find it odd that you all arrived at the same time." The group jumped at the sound of Alba's voice. They had been so transfixed on the room itself they hadn't been able to properly see the two figures that occupied it. Their schoolmate was one of course and the other one was of moderate height with fair skin and brown curly hair that was not unlike Alba's.

"We didn't," Rachel supplied, stepping into the room to survey her surroundings better.

"Um, okay, everyone, this is my younger sister, Piccola. Piccola, this is the glee clu-" Alba was cut off by a little green blur toddling into the room. "Eliira, what are you doing?"

The little green tyke stopped walking and stared up at Alba with an expression of contempt, one that most people couldn't perfect at least until their thirties. She held up a golden key and pressed it to her lips. David chuckled deeply and came into the room to scoop up the child.

"Yes, we know you can be quiet, Liira, but tonight, Mommy wants to be with her friends," he told her, placing a kiss on her cheek. She squirmed and threw the key on the floor with a pout on her deep violet lips.

"Mommy?" Puck questioned.

The little girl glanced at him and raised an eyebrow, nodding her head. She then tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips. "Stay."

"No, Liira, you can't stay. Everyone, this is my daughter Eliira and my sort of husband David," Alba introduced playfully.

"Sort of?" David raised his eyebrows.

"Husband?" Puck was still in shock from whole daughter thing.

"Yes, I'm still upset with you for the comment about my skin. It was insensitive. And yes, he's my husband and yes, I'm aware he's a grown man, but to be fair he's only twenty five. It's a nine year age difference," the green girl explicated, taking her daughter with matching verdigris from her husband.

"Nine years is a long time," Mercedes pointed out, earning a nod from Alba.

"Exactly. If they waited until she was older either of them could be dead. They didn't want to risk dying without having been married to each other. They're quite the pessimistic couple," Piccola informed them, only to be glared at by her older sister. "What?"

"Did you really just quote my marriage vows?"

Piccola grinned and began to exit the room. "I think Mom was just calling my name. Coming, Mom!" She sprinted out of the room before the pillow her sister was wielding could hit her.

"Remind me again why we keep her around," she said to David.

"Because Elphaba needs her Nessarose, whether she'd like to admit it or not," he answered, wrapping his arms around his wife and pulling her up so that her feet were dangling in the air.

"You know I hate when you say that. I. Am. Not. Elphaba Thropp." She ground out each word, leaning her forehead against his.

"Sure, sure. Anyway, we should get going. Come on, munchkin," he sat Alba down and took Liira from her. The child whimpered, but he shook his head. "Now, none of that. You knew in advance we were going with Grandma."

"Dude, she's a baby," Puck pointed out.

Eliira's mother chuckled. "When she wants to be. As you can see, she's far more intelligent than most one year olds. Isn't that right, Liira?"

The child grinned, looking somewhat smug in the process and nodded her head, causing her black as night curls to bounce.

"That's weird," Artie said.

Alba shrugged. "We're weird people. Okay, now you all have to leave. Bye, my baby," she kissed Eliira's cheeks. "And bye, my other baby," she reached up on her tiptoes to give David a sweet kiss on the lips. "Now, leave… and put on a shirt."

"Yessum," he smirked over his shoulder and exited the room, closing the door behind him.

"He's really your husband, isn't he?" Santana inquired, going over to the green girl to inspect the ring on her left hand.

"Indeed, but let's not talk about that. Our story is boring. What do you want to do first?" She asked the group.

"I don't suppose you have any booze?" Of course that was Puck.

"Two coolers full actually," she pointed to the left front corner of the room where two appropriately sized coolers sat. "Right over there in that corner. Would you like to play drinking games first?"

"I can't drink," Rachel spoke up. "And where should we put our bags?"

"Just in that corner," she pointed to the corner opposite the drinks.

"Oh, come off it, Berry," Santana sneered, putting her bags away. "Your daddies aren't here. Loosen the fuck up for once in your life."

"I don't have a problem with 'loosening the fuck up', Santana. I have medical reasons for not being able to drink. And stay off my damn case. If don't want to drink, I don't have to," the singer took in a deep breath and released it. "I apologize. I've been very irritable all day."

"Come on, San, leave Rachel alone. You promised you would," Brittany pleaded, pulling on her friend's sleeve.

"Fine, fine," the Latina huffed.

"Rachel, I can get you water or milk if you would prefer that," Alba offered, ignoring the previous exchange.

"Water, if you really don't mind."

"I will be right back," she slipped out of the room.

"I propose we play "I Never" first," Puck smiled, holding up two bottles of vodka while Mike and Finn got all the shot glasses and started passing them out.

"You always propose we play "I Never" first," Santana pointed out with an eye roll.

"That's because it's funny to see what people have and haven't done." At that, Rachel tensed initially, which Quinn saw and took the small girl's hand in her own. Muscles relaxing instantly, the hummingbird let a smile cross her features at the warmness in her belly.

"Okay, Rachel, I got you two bottles of water and that should be enough for a while. When you run out just tell me," the verdant hued teenager handed Rachel the two bottles of water and kept a third one for herself.

"What, you're not drinking either?" Puck wondered, eyeing her water bottle as they all sat around the round table situated in the middle of the room. It was just large enough for everyone to fit around.

Alba shook her head. "No. I was drunk when I got pregnant. I thought it would be a good idea to have sex in a pool while it was raining. Not one of my finer moments, I gotta tell you. Plus, I'm a bipolar drunk. Completely unpredictable. I'll play the game though. What are we playing anyway?"

"We're playing "I Never." I'll start and we'll go clockwise," Puckerman grinned and poured everyone, but Rachel and Alba drinks. "I never… got caught having sex."

Santana, Brittany, Alba, and Sam all drank (albeit for Alba it was from her water bottle).

"My turn," Sam paused to think. "I never… got a blowjob."

Puck, Finn, and Mike all drank. All eyes then went to Rachel.

"Hey, don't look at me. I wouldn't put my mouth anywhere near Finn's… parts," she said, earning a glare from Finn.

"I never been walked in on in the shower," Tina smiled in triumph.

Rachel, Quinn, Alba, Brittany, Santana, Artie, Mike, Puck, and Mercedes all drank.

"Damn, lock the door," Kurt said, seeing everyone else drink. "Mike, it's your turn, but before you go, will all these be sexual?"

"Probably," Alba answered him and he nodded. He wouldn't be getting drunk during this game.

"Okay, I have never ate carpet," Mike said.

Quinn, Brittany, Santana, Puck and Sam all drank.

"Wait, what does that mean?" Rachel queried.

"He means eat pussy, Rachel," Brittany informed her and she nodded, taking a swig from her water bottle.

"Whoa, wait, Berry, whose box have you been munching on?" Puck and everyone else in the room wanted to know.

"Mine," Quinn supplied, placing a kiss on Rachel's cheek. "And she's pretty amazing at it."

"Aw, thank you, Quinn. You're quite excellent at it as well," the diminutive girl let her know, pressing a sweet kiss on her lips.

The blonde winked at her. "I know." Which then earned her a blush.

"Wait, when did this happen?" Sam asked, looking directly at Quinn.

"After you two broke up, Sam," Rachel notified him before Quinn could. "And before anyone asks, no, she's not my girlfriend."

"Then why'd you break up with me?" The blonde boy was still looking at the Cheerio.

"She likes me more," the brunette said, rolling her eyes. "While I can understand that you're upset, she's with me, not you, deal with it. I'd like to point out that I'm very proud of myself. I just refrained from ranting, even though I wanted to."

"Good job, Rachel. The therapy's coming along nicely, then," Kurt teased, patting her knee to show he was joking.

"Can I go, now?" Brittany asked.

"Yes, Britt, proceed."

"I never… I've never not thought Rachel's hot."

Everyone drank.

"Wow, I'm flattered. I never would've guessed," the pixie said.

"No one wants to admit it cuz you're not popular, but it's true. You're really hot even if you are gaining weight," Brittany told her. "It makes you curvier."

Brown eyes widened and flew down to her stomach, which was barely beginning to show under her _Avenue Q_ t-shirt. Her arms wrapped themselves around her middle and she frowned. She didn't think anyone could tell yet. She was only two months along. She thought she at least had another two months before anyone noticed. First pregnancies were always said to be the ones that were easily hidden because a woman's body is still adjusting to making room for another human to live in for nine to ten months.

"She's right, Rae. Besides, you're tiny anyway. A little weight could do you some good," Quinn jumped in before Rachel's tears could, encircling her arms around the diva.

Rachel had to bite her tongue when the familiar flash of annoyance ran through her. She wasn't tiny. She was the perfect height for her weight. Well, her old weight that is. Now that she was pregnant, she would be gaining weight like nobody's business. "Thank you. Santana, it's your turn."

"I've never seen Rachel's mom." As much as she loved sex, she was thought some of the other players deserved a drink.

Artie, Tina, and Sam drank.

"Really? She dropped me off. She was in the car with Beth, who just recently discovered the art of throwing," Rachel explained, smiling fondly. "She now throws everything in sight, including every piece of sheet music I own. Actually, last week, she threw a spoon at me while I was doing my homework and she was smiling when I expressed my aggravation to Mom. I think she just enjoys seeing me exasperated."

"Good, so she did get some of my genes then," Puck smirked, blowing a kiss to his daughter's sister (odd), who was scowling at him. "You know I love you, Little Jew."

"And you know I detest that term of "endearment," Noah."

"Yeah, but it fits you, so deal with it," he grinned and she shook her head.

This was gonna be along night.

* * *

**AN: So, there was that chapter. Rachel told her parents. Um, I'm not sure if I wanna continue with the party or not. You all should review while I debate that.**

**~Elphaba Snow Thropp**


	8. If I Told You

**AN: No author's note and for those of you who would be asking "why write this if there is no author's note?" Well, I'd tell you "because everyone at some point in their lives, feel the need to do unnecessary things." But since none of you are asking, you really didn't have to read this. Sucks for you.**

* * *

"Quinn, please."

That was Rachel Berry's desperate, breathy plea as a certain blonde cheerleader had her lips wrapped around her clit and was sucking away like a child having their first lollipop. An odd synonym, but no less true. The shockwaves of pleasure rippling through the pregnant girl had her teetering on the edge of her sweet release. She was about to demand that Quinn cease teasing her when with one final nip, she reached her orgasmic peak and a feeling of euphoria descended upon her, leaving her entrancingly warm all over. Her hands gripped the bed sheets as she began to come down from her high. Quinn left kisses on sweaty tan skin while she moved up Rachel's trembling body to lie beside her.

"You were quiet," the taller of the two pointed out after waiting for the other to calm down.

"I was," she agreed with a nod of her head. "What about it?"

"You're never quiet. Did I do something?" Quinn wanted to know, eyeing the large shirt Rachel had absolutely refused to take off.

"I'll avoid the cliché of 'not everything's about you' and ask you a question. Why are my responses or lack thereof making you doubt your abilities at pleasing me?" The pixie questioned, turning her body so she was on her side facing her lover.

"Well, you're the only person I've been intimate with since Puck and since I've mostly been on the giving end of our relationship, I don't..." she paused to get her words in order. Being too close to Rachel always jumbled her thoughts. "If I'm not what you need, tell me."

"It's not you, Quinn. It's me. I still need you. It's just I haven't been very honest with you..." Rachel bit her lip as she trailed off in her nervousness. She had inherited her mother's neurosis, but at least she didn't suffer from occasional panic attacks like Shelby did.

"Whatever it is, Rae, you can tell me. I won't get mad, I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Quinn," she sighed, hauling herself out of the blonde's bed and beginning to get dressed.

"Where are you going? What did I say?" Quinn was now thoroughly confused as to what it was that was causing Rachel to shut her out.

"You haven't done anything. You've been perfect," the diva said, zipping her pants and slipping on her shoes before giving her a chaste kiss. "I told you. It's me. I'm keeping something from you and I've not quite figured out how to tell you just yet. I just need some time."

"You're... you're not cheating on me... are you?" The uncharacteristic timid quality of the Cheerio's voice caused an almost painful clenching in her chest.

She took a deep breath to quell the feeling and gave Quinn another, longer kiss before heading to the door. "Never. I wouldn't do that to you." And with that she left and Quinn listened for the sound of the door opening then shutting before letting her tears fall.

* * *

"Rachel, can I talk to you for a second?" Shelby requested of her daughter (two weeks after Rachel left Quinn at her apartment) as said daughter passed her home office where Beth and Luce were. Beth was playing with some blocks and Luce was just watching her.

"That depends. Are you gonna poke my stomach like Beth?" Rachel interrogated, narrowing her eyes at her sister.

"No, now get in here," she chuckled, having witnessed one of Beth's poking assaults while watching Will make dinner one night. It was so funny to see Rachel repeatedly tell Beth to "quit it" only to have the baby do it again. At nearly six months she was exhibiting behavior that her eldest assured was a mix of both Quinn and Noah.

The songstress nodded and entered the room, opting to take the left of the two seats in front of her mother's desk. She had seen her and Schuster doing more than just sitting in the right one last week and didn't care for the seat anymore. "What is it?"

"Well, first off, how was your day?" She not only asked that out of obligation, but also because she was actually curious. Go figure.

"Tiring. I almost fell asleep during Spanish. Tell Schuster I apologize. Oh, and thanks heaps for letting me in on the little secret that morning sickness isn't actually literal. Quinn had to tell me. What about you?" It wasn't said angrily or spitefully, but matter-of-factly. One of the only ways Rachel Berry knew how to be, not to day that she wasn't dynamic because she was. She was indeed.

"My day was normal and Will already forgives you. And that's your own fault, you never asked me," she replied to everything previously said in one go.

"I wasn't aware I had to, but I'll take the blame for this one. Anyway, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" The youngest brunette inquired.

"Well, I have just been contacted by the Committee that is in charge of Sectionals, Regionals, and Nationals. They first asked me if I was interested in making a music video consisting of my Vocal Adrenaline members and I said yes. They then proceeded to ask if you and I wanted to perform at Sectionals, Regionals, and Nationals separately just to showcase our talent. We would be performing after the video is showed. I told them yes. Is that all right with you? If not-"

Shelby was cut off by what was remarkably similar to Kristin Chenoweth's ethereal squeal followed by the wind being knocked out of her by what Rachel considered a hug, while Shelby found it akin to being squeezed by a boa constrictor or what she thought it would feel like.

"Mom, are you serious?" The overexcited teenager exclaimed, letting go of her mother to shake her instead.

"Yes. I'm also right here so there's no need to yell into my face," the older brunette reasoned, sitting back in shock that her child reacted exactly as she did. That was some freaky shit.

"I'm sorry, but this is amazing! This is fantastic! This is-"

"Mommy!" Luce managed to cut her mother off before Shelby could. Both divas looked over at the toddler who was still watching Beth with rapt attentiveness. "Nana say quiet."

Shelby groaned and leaned back in her chair dramatically. "While I agree with the small person on the notion of 'quiet,' you're gonna need to tell her to cut it out with the 'Nana' stuff. And that other one, too. Tell her to stop hugging me all the time. I might catch what she has."

"Mom!" Rachel shrieked in outrage, but the beaming smile on her face opposed her tone. She knew her mother was joking because she'd been around her long enough to know she had a very dark, sick sense of humor. And she was fine with that, even though it was eerily similar to been around Santana when she was in a good mood. That provided further confusion because Santana's good moods came as often as a blue moon.

"I'm just kidding. Anyway, I wanted to give you another heads up, Jesse's coming over in a few."

Rachel's joy then came to a screeching halt at the news. "Why is Jesse coming? And why am I just hearing about this? Oh, and why does Schuster have so many boxes?"

"Jesse is coming to talk to me. You're just hearing about it because I just heard about it half an hour ago and you just got home from you're lover's house. And Will and I broke up." She loved answering multiple questions at once. It made her feel like so much more of a badass than she already was just by being Shelby _fucking_ Corcoran. Except that her middle name was actually Aria which happened to be a badass name, adding to her badassness.

"What? When did this happen?" Jesse was long forgotten.

"Wednesday. We got in a very big fight. I yelled, he yelled, I threw things, he left and that was that. That's what Jesse wants to talk to me about. He's afraid I'm gonna close myself off to love or whatever and _shit_, I completely forgot to tell you and tell your fathers about… _shit_. You don't think they'll be too mad, do you? They trust me, right? They know I would never put you in danger, right?" Shelby had completely forgotten to tell Rachel, Leroy and Hiram about her friend. _Shit._ Double shit.

"Mom, I don't even know what you're talking about. You're babbling and I think you might've missed some sentences in there along the way, so do you mind back peddling?"

"I have this friend. My best friend actually. And they're coming to stay here for a while. It was a last minute thing and I totally forgot to mention it to your fathers. It shouldn't be too big of a deal. I mean, they didn't have a problem with Will living here, but then again, they kind of know Will. They sort of know… damn it, I need to call them," she was murmuring to herself as she picked up the phone before glancing at her eldest. "Go listen for the doorbell."

Rachel's eyebrows furrowed and she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Listen for the doorbell? That doorbell is louder than gongs. It's impossible to not hear it."

"Just go," Shelby shooed her and she left the room, accidentally bumping into Will on his way out.

"Hey, Schuester. Are you okay?" She knew firsthand how bad break ups could be.

"No, but I will be. I guess it's lucky I didn't sell my apartment after all," he tried to put on a smile, but it just wasn't happening. Instead he ducked his head. "This is the last of my stuff. I'll see you at school, Rach." And with that Will Schuester left.

Well, hmm.

Her abnormally short musings over the fact that her mother was no longer dating her Spanish teacher/glee coach were cut short when loud ringing floated through the house. Rolling her eyes at the volume, she went to get the door and to no surprise there stood Jesse St. James, cliché musical theatre boy and all. Even his name sounded cliché for a theatre boy. God, and she dated that? It had to have been the talent and mutual interests. It _had_ to be… well, that and he was really cute.

"Rachel," he said in a stiff, awkward greeting.

She raised her eyebrows at him. What, she didn't even get an actually hello, now? "You." She moved aside to let him in just as Olive made her way down the stairs to greet him as well.

"Hello, my name is Olivia Berry, but you can call me Olive. Actually, you _should_ call me Olive. Are you Jesse? I heard my Nana talking on the phone with you. She told me when you get here that I should greet you properly," the little girl paused in her rant that seemed to be a bit mature for a three year old. She looked up at her mother. "This is proper, right Mommy? I'm doing it right, aren't I? I can start over."

"No, baby, you did it perfectly," the pregnant teen let her know with a smile, bending down to kiss her forehead.

"Good. I've been practicing," Olive declared proudly before running off through the house, probably to Shelby's office to tell her Jesse had arrived, like she didn't already know that from the sound of the friggin' loud ass doorbell.

"I wasn't aware this new one would be your second," Jesse commented, pointing to the diva's belly. It was obvious she would start showing soon, though it would be easy to hide.

Rachel fought the urge to roll her eyes. She should've known her mother would tell her ex boyfriend. They were really close or something. "Third actually, but this will be the first one I have the privilege of giving birth to. Olive and her sister Luce are adopted."

"Oh, wow. You're gonna have your hands full then. No wonder Shelby almost broke down during rehearsal the day after you told her," he said, running a hand through his hair. This caused the girl to raise her eyebrows again. "Yeah, she was being so quiet and then she just blew up at this junior named Julia because she tripped and usually Julia's very stone faced when it comes to Shelby, but there was just something. I don't know. Julia ran off and so did Shelby before yelling at everyone to "take their shit and leave," but I knew something was wrong so I followed her to her office and-"

"And I cried like a baby," Shelby interceded, coming into the foyer with Luce on her hip. "Jesse, are ready to talk or are you not done telling my business?" The boy in question ducked his head and walked off into the kitchen. "This one needs a nap," she said, handing the one year old over to her daughter.

She nodded, taking the toddler and heading off upstairs. "What were you doing while Mommy was gone?"

"Watching," Luce replied in her soft voice, covering her mouth over a yawn.

Rachel shook her head at her daughter's brief response. That's what she always did when her mother was gone with Quinn. She hadn't actually gone to Quinn's apartment. Her need for creamy skin against hers would contradict her need for space. Instead, they had seen a movie because she knew Quinn had wanted to see _Black Swan_ or so the blonde had claimed. Rachel had the sneaking suspicion that her lover had only been so adamant about going because she herself wanted to see it. That brought a smile to her face. She loved that about the cheerleader, she was always so considerate to the point that Rachel could almost make herself believe that Quinn loved her, too. Almost.

* * *

Quinn loved glee club. Honestly, she did, but it needed to be over now and not in ten minutes because she had had Cheerio's practice at 4am that _Monday_ morning that lasted four hours. She had gone through the whole day on a drawn out adrenaline rush, but now she was crash. All she wanted to do was to go home and fall into bed. She was just completely worn out and not just from cheerleading practice, but the strain Rachel had put on their relationship by keeping something from her (and then telling her that she was keeping something from her) was stressing her out as well. And last week she told the diva that she belonged to her and asked if Rachel belonged to Quinn as well, but the brunette had said no. That had caused a crack in her already hardening heart, bringing her to the startling realization that she had at some point fallen in love with the pint sized Jew. She didn't know when or why, but she wasn't sure how much more of this disappointment she could take.

"Schuester, before everyone leaves I would like to sing a song that will help me make up for what a jerk I've been being to someone very important to me." At this both Quinn and Finn perked up.

"Ah, sure, Rachel."

"Brad," the diva nodded her head to him and he began on the piano.

"_If I told you that I lie sometimes,  
If I told you that I run away,  
If I told you who I was before,  
Would you follow me?_

"_If I told you that I sneak sometimes,  
If I told you that I love too much,  
If I showed you the other side,  
Would you follow me?_

"_Cuz I'm shedding my skin  
So you can see my face.  
I need you to know who I am.  
I'm ready to go where I've never been.  
Will you stay around and follow me?_

"_If I told you the earth was square,  
If I told you water wasn't wet,  
If I told you life was fair,  
Would you follow me?_

"_Cuz I'm shedding my skin  
So you can see my face.  
I need you to know who I am.  
I'm ready to go where I've never been.  
Will you stay around and follow me?_

"_To the furthest moon and back,  
Jupiter and Mars and all of that,  
To the middle of the galaxy on the smallest raft,  
I don't know if I can be sure  
Of anything I believed before.  
Will you follow me?_

"_Cuz I'm shedding my skin  
So you can see my face.  
I need you to know who I am.  
I'm ready to go where I've never been.  
Will you stay around and follow me?_

"_To the furthest moon and back,  
Jupiter and Mars and all of that."_

She got a standing ovation of course as if she expected any less and made her way to her lover who was penetrating her with her intense hazel stare. A shiver ran through her as she was approaching Quinn, but she was caught off guard when a looming figure stepped in front of her.

"I forgive you, Rach. I knew you couldn't stay mad at me for too long and I want you to know I missed you, too. Do you wanna come over tonight? My mom and stepdad are out of town and Kurt's going out with Blaine so we'd have the house to ourselves for a while."

Rachel blinked. Was Finn serious right now?

The songbird shook her head, side stepping him and going over to Quinn who greeted her with an embrace. Her tiny frame melted into the other girl and she sighed, content. "I'm so sorry I've been horrible to you. I miss you and I'm gonna take you out tonight. I have to tell you something."

"Okay, but Rae, it's the beginning of the month," Quinn stated, pulling back to look the girl she loved in the eye.

"So?"

"So… how's Michael?" Oh, that's what she meant.

"He died three days ago," Rachel whispered, leaning her forehead against the cheerleader's. She didn't want to talk about it because she was having mixed feelings about everything and she really didn't want to start crying in front of the glee club. "It's all very strange. I'm very sad, but I'm also relieved. It's just… I can't explain it."

"Baby, why didn't you tell me?" Quinn looked absolutely crushed and she felt like it too. She hated the thought of her love having to handle that on her own and she had a sinking feeling she shouldn't have let Rachel push her away like she did, but their agreement was for Quinn to be what Rachel needed _when_ Rachel needed her. "I could've been with you. I could've helped you. You shouldn't have been alone."

"Quinn, it's fine. It's just hard to deal with and I wasn't alone. I had my parents to comfort me and I had my daughters to cuddle with at night," she smiled slightly at the mention of Olive and Luce and then glanced around the room to see everyone filing out of the room, except Finn. "Can we go somewhere? I was going to take you out, but I forgot that my daddy dropped me off here today. We have some things to discuss."

Not twenty minutes did the pair find themselves seated in a secluded booth at Breadsticks. Rachel ordered a lemonade while her companion ordered a water. Their waitress wrote this down and walked away to get them, leaving the two in an uncomfortable silence. Both wanted to break it because they weren't like this. They never had awkward silences. It wasn't how they operated.

"Okay, Rae, tell me everything," the blonde requested after about a minute or two of squirming. "I have missed so much. Start with Michael. How could you not tell me about that?"

The brunette felt a flash of irritation run through her. "Well, excuse me for not including you while I was grieving. It's not like you knew him," she snapped and immediately wanted to take it back, upon seeing the look of hurt and shock on her love's face. "Oh, Quinn, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. Please, don't hate me. It's just that my hormones are all out of whack and they seem to be uncontrollable."

Quinn felt herself tense at the tone Rachel used. She had rarely ever heard the smaller girl speak like that and she was about drown in self pity of falling in love with someone who couldn't possibly love her back when she registered what Rachel said. "Your hormones…? Rae… what do you-you mean your… hormones? You're not… you can't be… p-pregnant."

The tears falling down tan cheeks sent a wave of despair overwhelming the blonde. She closed her eyes as her breaths shortened as a result of the wind being knocked out of her. "Quinn, I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. I should've told you when I found out. I'm so sorry."

"When did you find out?" She didn't even know she had asked it until she heard the answer.

"A month and a half ago, just before you came over to "talk" to me. I know I should've told you, but I didn't know how to even broach the subject with you. I kept bringing up Beth, hoping you would say something to make it easier and it didn't work. It never got easier and it's not easy now, especially because I didn't even tell you, you had to guess. Quinn, please don't hate me. I still need you." Rachel realized she hadn't been interrupted once and that worried her. That worried her a lot. "Quinn, please say something."

"What do you want me to say, Rachel?"

"Are you angry with me?" The diminutive girl questioned hesitantly. She didn't want to incite the girl's anger if there was no anger to begin with.

"I don't know."

And she really didn't. Not at this point.

* * *

**AN: Sorry it took me so long to update, but I've got a broken finger.**

**~Elphaba Snow Thropp**


	9. Dared To Move

**AN: I'm really sorry this has been taking me so long to update. I say that every time, but I have school and a broken finger and basketball and musical theatre and I'm writing a book and I have friends, so I write when I can. Also, I'm adding a character and their background is in this chapter and it's at the beginning because Shelby and Rachel start this chapter and the new character is someone from Shelby's past.**

* * *

Quinn wasn't talking to her. Her Dad was working extra shifts at the hospital so he wouldn't have to see her at home. Her Daddy was walking around giving her looks of pity. Shelby was still recovering from her breakup. Jesse was coming around now more than ever. The jocks barely noticed her, which was fine. Something happened between Brittany and Santana and now the Latina was being particularly brutal to her and she had no clue why. The glee club and Schuester did nothing while Santana verbally assaulted her. Alba had been sick with pneumonia. Michael wasn't there. And Rachel was a hot damn mess.

She was starting to show more; her belly was an inch and a half bigger and she was now the talk of glee club. Since her dad and daddy were only around on the weekends, she lived with Shelby during the week and them during the weekend and it was hurting her so much that her own fathers wouldn't even try be there for her after her best and most of the time only friend died. She now cried herself to sleep regularly. She was sure Shelby knew because she always encouraged her to call her fathers, but Rachel knew it was too soon. They hadn't forgiven her.

They didn't forgive her like Quinn didn't forgive her. She mentally cringed. Even thinking of the cheerleader hurt. She wouldn't even look at Rachel anymore, she seemed to barely be able to stay in the same room as her and would sit as far away from her as possible in glee. This was Rachel's fault for lying. But then again, it always seemed to be Rachel's fault, didn't it? She couldn't do much right, could she? Every time she turned around, someone was mad at her. Most of the time this wouldn't bother her too much, but Quinn made her a promise to always be there when she needed her. It wasn't even that hard of a promise to keep either, most of the time the tiny diva was completely independent, but she supposed the hurt outweighed the credence of the promise she made to Rachel.

Guess promises to Rachel weren't worth keeping after all.

"Can you keep a secret?" Shelby asked her in whisper one night while they were watching the babies and Olive (who insisted she was no longer a baby) sleep.

"I've been known to do so exceptionally well."

"I was never in love with Will." This caused Rachel to turn to her with wide eyes.

"Did you ever tell him you were?" She inquired slowly as if trying to figure out why her mother had shared this particular information… not that she minded or anything.

"No, but I wanted to," the older of the two admitted, casting her gaze down in thought or in shame, Rachel couldn't tell. "I wanted to so badly. I should've, right? Will is a loveable guy, I should've been able to love him."

"You can't make yourself love someone, Mom. That's not how it works," the teenager chuckled knowingly, the sound coming out darker and rougher than she intended as she and Shelby exited their children's room. She cleared her throat to continue. "So why do you think you aren't able to love him like you want to?"

"I'm in love with someone else," Shelby confessed in an odd tone, going into her bedroom leaving her daughter to follow. She flopped down on her bed and hugged her pillow to her. She was going through an extremely confusing range of emotions and she was just all discombobulated.

"And?" This was good. Her mother was in the same situation as her… sort of. She could talk this out now. She hadn't talked to anybody about Quinn and it was slowly killing her not to talk about it.

"And it's complicated. I mean, it doesn't have to be, but I make it complicated."

"I am right there with you," the songstress agreed, falling onto the bed next to her mom.

"Go on." Shelby was now sitting up on her elbows. She was eager to talk about her situation with someone other than Jesse, but she didn't know how much her daughter would be able to handle.

"I told my… _friend_ about the baby and they refuse to acknowledge my existence, but I'm used to it. However, after further inspection of the situation, I suppose I'll have to deal with it. I'm living for myself anymore; I have kids now so this is where my strength comes into play. I can get past this. I'll be fine, Mom," she tried to assure herself, but it just wasn't happening. Losing Quinn wasn't supposed to be this hard. Before she knew it, she was pulling her mother in for bone crushing hug.

"It's gonna be okay, baby," Shelby whispered against the top of her head.

Rachel shook her head, knowing it was far from okay, but let her mom hold her. At least someone wanted to. "No, it's not, but I don't really wanna talk about it anymore. Tell me about this person you're in love with."

The woman grinned widely and when she tried to rearrange her smile into something more tolerable for her cheek muscles, it didn't work at all. The grin was still firmly set in place and her emerald eyes were alight and glazed over as if she were reliving a memory. "This is so much more than just a person. He is… he's _everything_. I… don't know how to describe him as anything other than that."

"Elaborate, sil vous plait."

"I haven't seen him in five years, but he's still part of the reason I get up in the morning, he's the random smile that's on my face when I'm by myself, he's the moon in the night sky, he gives me the sun even when he's not here, he takes the stars and just lights up my face, he's so beautiful and I will love him come rain or come shine."

A beat passed. "Did you just quote a Barbra song?"

"I think I did," she sighed, sitting up with the pillow still hugged to her body. "I think I'm really that in love with him which is terrifying, especially since he's been on an entirely different continent for the past five years and he still has such a powerful hold over me. I can't even imagine what it'll be like when he comes back home."

"Where's he been?" And then Rachel thought of a better question. "When is he coming home?"

"He's been in Japan. He's a super mega genius who developed some hi-tech computer program and Japan wanted it so he sold it to them, but a while back they needed an advancement so that's where he's been for the past five years. We've had five hundred and sixty two phone conversations in that time period. He knows about everything, about you, about Beth, about Will, about inability to love another man like I love him…"

"You told him that?" Her daughter wondered, looking up at her. "Does he love you, too?"

"No, I haven't told him, but I know he knows. And yes, I know he loves me, but I'm not entirely sure if he's in love with me. Sometimes I think he is and sometimes," she took a breath and ran a hand through her dark locks. "I just doubt everything between us. Oh, and as for you other question I didn't answer, he told me that he's coming home soon."

"Where does he live?"

Shelby muttered something unintelligible under her breath, burying her face in her pillow. Rachel nudged her because she barely heard the garbled mess of a noise she emitted. The vocal director lifted her head. "I said he lives here."

"What? Mom, when were you gonna tell me?" The diva demanded, sitting up.

"I just found out…" she trailed off sheepishly.

"Yeah, like a month ago when you broke up with Mr. Schue."

"I'm sorry. It's not like I purposefully forgot to tell you. It just slipped my mind that I _should_ in fact tell you that the man I used to live with is coming back home, where you also live now," Shelby bit her lip when Rachel flopped back onto the bed.

"Thanks, Mom. Thanks."

"Can I ask you a question, Rach?" At the songbird's nod she continued. "How were you able to cope after losing Michael?"

Rachel squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. "I was dared to move."

* * *

It was a week later and Rachel was walking to glee barefoot, pregnant, and seething in anger over her fifth slushy of the day. She had started packing a fucking suitcase because of Santana and she had recently learned that Quinn was in on it, too. However, she didn't think she'd need to pack extra shoes. Yes, someone had stolen her flip flops when she had slipped them off during class. What complete bullshit! One mistake and suddenly this. It wasn't like she murdered someone. This was getting way out of hand and she would put a stop to it now.

"Rachel, you're late," Mr. Schuester had pointed out when she stormed into the choir room in a pink sundress and no shoes adorned on her dainty little feet.

"Ever the observant one," the girl mumbled, gaining a loud chuckle from both Puck and Kurt. "What's the point of announcing this assessment?"

"Well, as our captain I expect you to be on time. You've never been late before," he said, trying to be firm.

"Yes, exactly," she responded stiffly, turning to him while remaining acutely aware that everyone in the room was staring at them. "I've never been late. You have numerous times and you're our coach so I don't think it's ethical of you to preach about being late when I've been on time more than you have."

"Oh, sit down and shut up, Tranny." And of course Santana would feel the need to say something even when it had nothing to do with her.

And of course Mr. Schuester chose to ignore it and admonish Rachel instead. "Rachel, that was completely inappropriate of you to say. I demand an apology."

The diva smiled softly at him if only to keep from exploding at him. "Well, you won't get one. You should just accept that you're wrong. And as for you, Santana, what exactly is your problem with me?"

"Aside from your excruciatingly painful personality? I have a problem with hearing your voice and the fact that you won't admit that you're secretly hiding a penis under your dress," she smirked, leaning back in her chair obviously self satisfied.

"I see, well, my personality –however painful it may be, has been in tact long enough for you to have gotten used to it. And as for your second accusation, I am not hiding a male sexual organ under my dress and we had gym together last year, you've seen me undress so I know for a fact that you know I am all woman. So it can't be any of that," the diva pointed out strategically, standing in akimbo at the front of the room.

"Seriously, Treasure Trail. Look, you don't matter-"

"If I don't matter, then stop _fucking_ targeting me!" Rachel finally blew up in the same high pitched voice both her dad and her mother used when they were angry. Her hands were balled into fists at her side and she could feel heat pouring into her cheeks, but she wasn't backing down. No, _no._ She was a Berry and her mother's daughter and it was not in her nature to give up. "I'm sick of this. I have done nothing to you so why are you orchestrating all the slushy attacks?"

That's when the Latina's smirk widening drastically and she stole a glance at the blushing blonde Cheerio next to her. "Oh, it's not just me. Looks like Q's got something against you, too."

The hurt that punched Rachel in the chest wasn't anything compared to the pain she felt when she first learned of her ex-lover's involvement in her torture. She chose to ignore it at the moment. She had a job to do now and she couldn't get caught up in her emotions yet. "So you want to act like children and be bitches to me instead of confronting about your issues?"

"Rachel! That's it! I've had enough of your selfish behavior! We're supposed to be a team and you're not helping at all!" Mr. Schuester cut in.

"No! That is _not_ it!" She rounded on him. "I've had enough of you, Schuester, letting them say whatever they want to me and then yelling at _me_ when I try to defend myself! You are such a hypocrite! You preach about team unity and everyone in glee feeling special, but I don't feel special! I feel ostracized and unwanted and you're doing nothing to help me at all! You are a terrible role model sometimes! It seems like everyone's your favorite, but me!" She stopped and took a breath, soaking in his shocked face and feeling her stomach churn. "God, I can't even look at you, right now. I'm so tempted to jump ship and transfer to Carmel."

"You know what, Man Hands; you're absolutely right. You are unwanted… by like everyone," Santana explained, standing up out of her seat and stepping in front of the small teenager. "Even you're mother rejected you. So why don't you just leave?"

And dull smacking noise sounded in the room and stunned gasps soon followed.

"Don't you ever say anything about my mother again," Rachel whispered in a dangerously soft and slow way. The tanned Cheerio quickly recovered and swung at the diva, who caught the fist in her hand, refusing to let it go for fear that next time it would be aimed at her stomach and not at her nose.

Santana chuckled. "Why not, Stubbles? It's not like she'd do anything. You know why? She doesn't care what I say to you because she doesn't care about you. She doesn't love you."

Rachel released her fist, now in a crazed frenzy as she pushed against the cheerleader with all her might. The result was on the floor laughing her ass off, which only furthered the Jewish girl's fury. "Were you deprived as a child? Did no one love you? Is that why you have to tear me down? Maybe you're the unloved one."

"Yeah, well, yo mama's so fat she left the house wearing high heels and came back wearing flip flops." That caused everyone to laugh.

"Yo mama's so fat she walked into the Gap and filled it." That caused everyone to laugh even harder.

"Please, at least my mom didn't take one look at me and send me off with a gay couple."

"So you intend to make cheap shots because you've had a mother your whole life and I haven't? How can that amuse you? What, is your own mother so unsatisfying that you have to make mine seem worse? Is that it?" She probably looked crazy. In fact, she was sure she looked crazy. "Well, let me tell you something you sociopathic, demented _cuca_, you don't know anything. You're high school. That's all you are and you will be nothing but a cheap whore when you graduate. I am so above you, with or without my mother that you don't even compare."

"What, like Shelby? I bet that's the real story of how you got here. She graduated, whored around, got pregnant with you and gave you up when the opportunity presented itself. But who could blame her."

"I didn't know you had premonitions, Santana because clearly you're foretelling your own future," the enraged hummingbird fired back, beginning to become exhausted. She was so tired. She just wanted everything to go back to the way it was.

"If it's anyone's future, it yours, Yentl," Santana scoffed, glancing at the other girl's stomach.

Rachel stepped back as if she'd been physically struck. "I didn't whore around and I would _never_ give up my baby." And then a thought crossed her mind, but she wasn't quick enough to voice it.

"You're pregnant?" That was about half the room tight there.

"Ha! I knew it! You just couldn't keep your legs closed, could you Berry?" Santana laughed.

"That's a little funny coming from you, San," Quinn muttered, gaining a look of gratitude from Rachel and a glare from the girl next to her.

"You want a little ice for that burn, Santana?" Alba giggled from her spot next to Puck. She had been studiously watching and not interrupting out of shear curiosity.

"At least I've been smart enough not to get pregnant," she hissed.

"Or maybe all the guys you've been with were smart enough not to get you pregnant," the short girl countered before she even processed what she was saying. She never knew she was so vicious. "Are you jealous, Santana?"

"Yes, I'm jealous that it was so easy for Shelby to get rid of you twice and I still haven't been able to and now the world is going to have to suffer through two of you."

"_Excuse me_?"

The entire room snapped out of their obvious astonished stupors and everything stopped as everyone's gazes left the two girls and went to the doorway. Or more precisely who was standing in it. No one moved, no one said a word, most didn't even breathe as the person slowly and deliberately entered the room. The air crackled with anticipation, fear, anxiety and relief (for more than one person in that room).

"What the hell is going in here?" The figure demanded of the man in charge.

"I… well, Rachel- she…yeah," Will finished lamely, unable to come up with an excuse this time.

"Rachel?" The person tried this time.

"Mom…what are- what are you doing here?"

Santana at least had the decency to look ashamed.

"Doctor's appointment, remember? I was coming to pick you up before I picked up the babies, but then I was greeted by the _lovely_ sight of you being called out by Mr. Schuester. I would've intervened before now, but you looked like you had it under control," she explicated, glaring daggers at the Latina on the floor. She couldn't believe what she had heard come out of the girl's mouth about her. This little girl didn't even know her.

"Well, I'm sorry you had to see that. We can go." She tried to make a bee line for the door, but she felt a pair of arms around her waist and she was pulled against her mother.

"No, we can't, you see, I wanna know what this was all about. I don't take kindly to my child being bullied so we aren't leaving until I get some answers, so you wanna tell me?" She questioned her daughter who stared at the ground and didn't say anything. "Okay, how about you?" She turned to Santana who avoided her gaze also in favor of looking at the floor. "No one?" This was moment when crickets would have been chirping. "All right then, well listen up and listen good because this is the first and last time I will say this; I don't give two shits what you say about me to other people, but don't you ever try to use me against my daughter. You don't know me so before you open your mouth to say something, make sure you have the mind to back it up. Come on, Rachel."

"Okay," she mumbled, obediently following her mother toward the door, feeling so much more respect for the woman.

"And another thing, I understand my name tastes good because it's always in someone's mouth, but you honestly don't know the full power behind the name Shelby Corcoran so swallow it, bitch." She gave a glare that sent shivers down even Brad's spine to the Cheerio who'd been tormenting her kid and then left, not knowing what was in store for her when she got home later that night.

* * *

**AN: Cuca is cunt in Spanish by the way. And um, yeah, there was the chapter that took me forever to update because I got bored with this story. This was kind of a filler chapter, though.**

**~Elphaba Snow Thropp**


End file.
